"A few days have gone now," said the 35-year-old Swiss, who retires this year. "I'm getting better, but I'm definitely not how I want to be. The first few days of the Giro were hard and with my stomach flu. I was definitely sick.
The four-time time trial world champion managed 52-13 minutes today in the 40.5-kilometre time trial through Chianti, which was only enough a fourth place.
Fabian Cancellara on stage eight of the 2016 Giro d'Italia
(Image credit: Watson)
"It was a tough one, a hard one, and not maybe the nicest one for my style of racing," Cancellara said after the stage.
"In the end, I paid a bit for trying to gain on the rider I saw in front of me. I went a bit over the edge and then I paid the price, but in the end, I could manage in the downhill to recover a bit. That's how it is. I knew it was my last [stage], so I did it all-in."
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Watch: how will the GC contenders fare in the Giro's time trial
Cancellara only raced the Giro d'Italia twice before in his 16-year career. He hoped this year to add a stage win or a pink jersey to his long list of wins that includes stages and the yellow jersey in the Tour de France, monuments and time trial titles.
"What I like is that it is high-level racing, but really well organised. I have nothing to complain about, about the roads, or the transfers, bad days – there's nothing. In my 16 years, that hasn't happened a lot," Cancellara explained.
"Compared to the years I did it the last time, the Giro has made a nice step-up to a high level. This is how it has to be, a good level but not crazy high with the crowds like the Tour de France."
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Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.
