"Big Tom, Big Tom." Just past the finish line of the Rifugio Sapienza, a jovial Tifoso poked his head over the barriers, trying to get Tom Dumoulin's attention.

By the time Dumoulin had completed the climb up Mount Etna, more than nine minutes had passed since Leonard Kemna's victory on stage 4 of the Giro d'Italia. More importantly, more than six minutes had passed since the overall contenders had sprinted for the win. With 17 stages still to go, his challenge for the Maria Rosa was already over.

"I'm a little bit out of shape. That's how it feels. I tried my best to come here in the best shape possible," Dumoulin told reporters as he stopped before the finish line.

"Everything was OK. I just don't have my legs right now. I don't know why, but that's how it is."

A solid run in the opening time trial in Budapest had raised hopes that Dumoulin might be able to replicate the form that won him the overall in this race five years ago. But that illusion was shattered a little more than 8 km from the finish when the forested area at the foot of the mountains began to give way to a sparse field of blackened rocks.

Dumoulin was the first to drop out of the leading group shortly after the gradient briefly rose to 14%. Another past winner, Vincenzo Nibali (Astana-Cazakstan), was forced to surrender slightly above the volcano, but Dumoulin's loss was the biggest of the afternoon. The giro he had prepared under the Tenerife volcano effectively ended under another volcano.

It might have been easier for Dumoulin to just keep going after crossing the finish line, despite his obvious fatigue. Of course, no one treats victory and disaster in the same way, but Dumoulin, polite in victory or defeat, tried to put his disappointment into words.

"I felt pretty good this morning, but in the final my legs went bad right away. I don't have my legs right now," Dumoulin said. Dumoulin said. 'I have no immediate explanation for this affliction, no illness or injury to report.'

"No, I have very few answers as you guys seem to have at the moment. I have worked hard. I've worked hard for this giro, but yeah, it hasn't worked out the way I hoped it would."

Dumoulin's climbing form was an unknown coming into this race. He had taken a break from cycling early last season and had not climbed a mountain pass with the peloton's top riders since the 2020 Tour de France. Injuries and illnesses have limited his mileage this season, and he was eliminated early in the two summit finishes of the UAE Tour.

"I've worked just as hard as I always have," he said. 'But it just wouldn't come out anymore. My body doesn't respond the way I want it to. My legs are full of it. I don't have the power anymore that I had a few years ago. It wasn't a fun kilometer."

Dumoulin's Jumbo Visma teammate, Tobias Foss, lasted longer in the group of favorites, but he too was separated just before the summit. The Norwegian finished nearly 5 minutes behind stage winner Kemna and now sits in 30th place overall at 4:14.

"Everyone was going fast and I missed the last 1%. It's still early in the race, but it certainly wasn't my best day," Foss said. I thought [Dumoulin] looked good. It was a hard stage overall, so if you don't have the legs or you don't have the percentages, you struggle a little bit. But there are still a lot of races left. We will take it one day at a time and take our chances."

Dumoulin, though, had no time to think that far ahead. The dry truth of the day had yet to be digested. 'For now,' he said, 'I don't want to think about it.' "I want to recover anyway"