Matteo Trentin took a brilliant victory on the Giro d’Italia 18th stage as race leader Steven Kruijswijk comfortably held onto the pink jersey on Thursday.
Italian Trentin was part of a four-man chase group behind Etixx team-mate Gianluca Brambilla and Moreno Moser coming into the finish.
But as Brambilla played the team game sitting in Moser’s wheel, Trentin made up a 15-second deficit before flying straight past the two leaders with less than 300-metres left to take the victory.
Dutchman Kruijswijk comfortably monitored any potential threats to his lead and finished in group of overall contenders to maintain his three-minute lead over Esteban Chaves in the standings.
Spaniard Alejandro Valverde is third ahead of former winner and 2015 Tour de France champion Vincenzo Nibali of Italy. – Agence France-Presse
