Ineos Grenadiers had four top-20 finishers in Saturday's second stage time trial, including Giro d'Italia debutant Ben Tullett.

Pavel Sivakov was 15th by 22 seconds, Richie Porte was 16th with the same time, and Ineos Grenadiers Grand Tour leader Richard Karapas was 19th, 28 seconds behind second stage winner Simon Yates (Team Bike Exchange-Jayco)

Tours.

Tullett, 20, told reporters at the finish line that he went out with the intention of "having fun and giving it his all," which helped push him toward a standout performance.

"I couldn't hear what I was thinking. It was great to be in an event with so many people and it pushed me," said Tullett, who was already 15th in the first stage of the Giro.

"I didn't have a team car with me and I didn't want to take all the risks in the world. There were some really dead corners that were difficult to manage."

"But I went out there with the intention of having fun, giving it my all, and seeing what would happen."

Tourette said his main motivation in the Giro was to help Calapaz anyway.

Calapaz himself did not speak to reporters at the finish, but Ineos Grenadier's management later said it was a good day for the entire team.

"First of all, I want to commend (stage winner) Simon Yates (Bike Exchange-Jayco). Of course, he does the work behind the scenes, but they [the teams] must have done their job as well."

"When you look at the current state of players like Richie Porte, Pavel, and Ben Tullett, in the big picture, I'm happy with where we are.

Of Calapaz himself, Cookson said, "He gave it his all, he didn't take any risks. He didn't take any risks and there is a lot to play for in this race."

Of Tullett, Cookson noted that he had already shown what he was capable of, citing his 12th and 9th places in last year's Fleche Wallonne and Tour de Pollogne, respectively.

"He is clearly talented, but he is not new to the World Tour this year. He will support us in the high mountains."

Cookson agreed that the Mt. Etna stage will play an important role in determining future GCs.

"It is an incredibly hard stage and the last climb. I think it's especially important in this Giro to manage and calculate your efforts correctly.