Stage 17

The road

At the start

Nibali is fourth, and four minutes down

Andalo cost Vincenzo Nibali the podium: he is fourth now, 4:43 behind Steven Kruijswijk, with Chaves at three minutes and Valverde at 3:23 in between. Today is billed as the sprinters' day, except so few sprinters are left that their teams may not be able to hold a break — the Passo Sant'Eusebio on the way out of the mountains, then flat Lombardy all the way in. Luka Mezgec does not start.

How it was won

1. 130 km to go

   Three bridge across, and the break doubles

   With the gap under a minute inside the final 30km, Bak, Konovalovas and Belkov strike out and join the leaders, slowing the catch and buying the escape another twenty kilometres of hope.

2. 22 km to go

   Pozzato's ambush

   The six are swept up with barely two kilometres left and the sprint looks certain — then Filippo Pozzato jumps clear under the flamme rouge and, for a hundred metres, looks like he has stolen it.

3. 3At the line

   Kluge's track timing

   Roger Kluge, an omnium rider heading for Rio, judges his run to perfection, rounds Pozzato and takes a few more metres for good measure — a first Grand Tour stage win days after IAM Cycling announce they are folding.

The result