Don’t you just love these short, frenetic, aggressive mountain stages? Much was expected today as hostilities recommenced at the start of the third week of racing, and it delivered in spades. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), part of a final three-man break containing the race leader Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL Jumbo) and Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha), easily won the dash for the line to take his maiden Giro victory and move onto the podium. Kruijswijk finished second to cement his race lead – it’s looking increasingly likely he’ll become the first Dutchman to win the Giro d’Italia.
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