GIRO D’ITALIA STAGE 17 HIGHLIGHTS

Ireland’s Dan Martin finished solo out of the breakaway to win the mountainous stage 17 of the Giro d’Italia on Wednesday, with Colombia’s Egan Bernal holding onto the leader’s pink jersey. Martin, 34, resisted his rivals superbly on the final climb, over 6.5 miles with an average gradient at 9.8 percent, after the 193km ride between Canazei and a summit finish at Sega di Ala in the north of Italy.

The Israel Start-Up Nation rider crossed the line alone 13 seconds ahead of Portugal’s Joao Almeida with Britain’s Simon Yates third half-a-minute behind the leader

Ineos’ Bernal appeared vulnerable for the first time since the race got underway in Turin, losing time in the final climb but holds the lead with the race finishing in Milan in four days.

Bernal lost nearly a minute to Yates, but held almost all of his lead on Italian Damiano Caruso, overall second at 2:21. Yates moved up from fifth to third place, at 3:23.

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RBA/AFP Photo: Bettini