Chris Froome launched a late attack on the stage 18 summit finish to claw back ground on the general classification at the Giro d’Italia.
After biding his time on the first-category ascent to Prato Nevoso, Froome began his acceleration ahead of the final kilometre after hauling himself back up to the move of Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb).
Crossing the line alongside immediate rivals Dumoulin and Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain-Merida), the trio put 28 seconds into the maglia rosa Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott).
“That was something we decided on the last climb. Wout was feeling good so we agreed that he’d push on and see what would happen in the last few kilometres if I could get across to him. It worked out really well.
“I had no idea (Yates) was on the limit there. Only when I accelerated did I turn around to see Pozzovivo and Dumoulin with me and not Simon.
“For the first time we’ve seen that Yates wasn’t at 100 per cent. It’s a surprise because he was really strong so far. Now after what happened today, everyone will think about attacking him, so anything and everything can happen tomorrow and the day after tomorrow”.
“We’ve got the Colle delle Finestre, on dirt roads, there’s room to invent something. The race is still on,” Froome said.
