Simon Yates bares teeth to expose Egan Bernal after Dan Martin wins from breakaway at Giro d’Italia

Martin completes grand tour set with a stage win at Giro

Bernal shows the first sign of weakness after Yates attacks

Yates moves up to third on the general classification

Carthy drops two places down to fifth overall

Simon Yates reignited his Giro d’Italia as a late attack found the first signs of weakness in race leader Egan Bernal while Dan Martin took solo victory from a breakaway on stage 17. Yates recovered from the problems he showed on Monday as he attacked Bernal on the steep gradients of the climb to Sega di Ala, taking 53 seconds out of the Colombian by the summit to spring back into the podium places.

Yates crossed the line third on the day, 30 seconds after Martin took his first Giro stage win to complete his grand tour set as a reward for a long day in a breakaway on the 193km run from Canazei. Yates had looked down and out after he lost more than two minutes on Monday to drop from second to fifth, while Bernal had not put a foot wrong in the race to this point – and had celebrated a fine stage victory 48 hours earlier.

But things looked very different after Tuesday’s rest day as Yates attacked four kilometers from the summit. Bernal initially followed, but within a kilometer, he struggled to hold the wheel of Ineos Grenadiers teammate Dani Martínez as Yates skipped away.

With second-placed Damiano Caruso also struggling, the damage to Bernal’s overall lead – now two minutes and 21 seconds – was limited to just three seconds. Still, it remains to be seen if this was a sign of things to come or a temporary blip after the rest day.

“Today was a tough day for me,” Bernal said. “The last kilometers were steep. I tried to follow Yates, but Today, he was stronger than me. I just tried to arrive with Caruso, who is closest in the GC [general classification]. I don’t want to take any risks. “For sure, Yates was very impressive, and I just did my best. I’m happy because I didn’t lose too much time.”

BikeExchange’s Yates now sits in third, three minutes and 23 seconds back, overhauling Aleksandr Vlasov and Hugh Carthy, who both slipped back and are now more than six minutes down in fourth and fifth, respectively. “I didn’t know the situation,” Yates said of his attack. “I didn’t know he was dropped until a bit later. I was going full gas, so it’s not like I could accelerate to increase the gap.

“I just hope the weather stays like this. Every day it has rained, I’ve not had a good day, so hopefully, it stays the same, and we’ll see what I can do.” Martin, racing the Giro for the first time since he crashed out in the opening team time trial in Belfast in 2014, had seen his hopes of pink effectively endg on the gravel roads of stage 11.

But he rescued his race in some style here as he hit the climb with an advantage of around 90 seconds and held on ahead of the fireworks behind. “I think the shake of the head at the end there said I couldn’t quite believe it was happening,” the ISN rider said. “That’s what I came here for, to try to win a stage, and I knew Today was one of the last opportunities. With the time I lost, it was possible to go in the breakaway, and to do it was incredible.” PA

03:31 pm

Bernal retains pink; Yates up to third

Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) has kept the maglia rosa, the leader’s pink jersey. Despite all that drama, the Colombian lost only three seconds to Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious). Speaking afterward, Bernal said: “Today was not my best day, but I didn’t lose much time, just a few seconds from Caruso. Ultimately, it’s another day out; now, let’s think about tomorrow. Yates went very fast; he rode an impressive climb. I tried to follow him, and maybe I was wrong to follow him immediately. This Giro ends in Milan; every day, you can lose or gain a lot of time; I must stay focused.”

However, Simon Yates (BikeExchange) moved to third while gaining 53sec on the maglia rosa. Speaking to Eurosport and GCN, Yates said: “I didn’t even realize he [Bernal] was dropped until a bit later. I was already going full gas, so it wasn’t like I could accelerate more, and that’s about it. Another Briton, Hugh Carthy (EF Education-Nippo) dropped two places to fifth.

“Every day, it’s rained. I haven’t had a good day, but hopefully, the forecast stays the same, and I’ll see what I can do. We missed the breakaway, and I wanted to go for the stage. By the time the breakaway had already gone, there was only 60km or so before the day’s first climb, so it wasn’t a huge job.”

03:09 pm

Martin wins stage 17 at the Giro!

Dan Martin (ISN) has completed his stage wins in all three grand tours. Simon Yates (BikeExchange) repays his teammates, who made massive efforts earlier in the day, to take second and gain valuable time on general classification while also highlighting a possible weakness in the armor of Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers). Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick Step) is third.

Martin said afterward, “I have no words to describe this success. I came to the Giro to do well in GC [general classification] and win a stage. Today I wanted to go on the attack and enter the breakaway, I didn’t think the peloton would let me go on the attack, but my team did a great job helping me. I have to thank them. I needed a climb like this and the sun to do well.”

03:08 pm

500 meters to go

Dan Martin is moments away from the stage win.

03:08 pm

1km to go

Egan Bernal is losing time here Today but has teammate Dani Martínez willing him on. The Ineos Grenadiers rider should hold on to his leader’s jersey as he’s sat alongside Damiano Caruso, who started the day in second. Still, questions will be asked tonight: has the Colombian’s legs gone, or have the back problems that forced him to abandon last year’s Tour de France resurfaced? Simon Yates, meanwhile, is gaining valuable time and may move up to third on the general classification with this ride here this afternoon.

03:06 pm

1.5km to go

Simon Yates is out of the saddle, and Joao Almeida is hanging on. Dan Martin is around 25sec up the road, the maglia rosa 30sec or so further behind.

03:05 pm

2km to go

Egan Bernal has teammate Dani Martínez for company, and boy, does he look like he needs him. Damiano Caruso is alongside the pair.

03:04 pm

Bernal struggling

The Giro often produces excellent drama in the third week, and we could see another shuffling of the pack here Today. Egan Bernal cannot hold the wheel of his teammate Dani Martínez. It is almost as if he is over-geared, or perhaps those doubts over his back coming into the Giro d’Italia are returning to haunt the young Colombian. Simon Yates is closing in on Dan Martin. This is quite unbelievable.

03:01 pm

3.1km to go – Bernal has cracked!

Simon Yates and Joao Almeida have dropped the race leader. Good grief, what’s this? Egan Bernal appears to be human, after all.

03:00 pm

3.5km to go

Simon Yates, Egan Bernal, Joao Almeida, and Dani Martínez ride together, but Damiano Caruso has been dropped. Dan Martin, meanwhile, is holding on, but his advantage has dropped to 53sec.

02:58 pm

Yates attacks!

It’s been in the post all afternoon, but can Simon Yates deliver the goods? The Briton rises out of his saddle and sets off up the road. Egan Bernal is wise to the move, jumping straight onto his wheel, but is this a sign of what is to follow on the steeper stretches of the road?

02:57 pm

Almeida attacks!

Here we go. Joao Almeida, who started the day over 10 minutes down on general classification, floats off the front of the maglia rosa.

02:55 pm

4km to go

Hugh Carthy drops back to the group containing Aleksandr Vlasov and Giulio Ciccone, all three likely to lose time on general classification. Gianni Moscon, meanwhile, is reunited with his three Ineos Grenadiers teammates as they inch toward the steepest part of the climb.

02:54 pm

4.5km to go

Did not expect to see this: Hugh Carthy is struggling on this climb. The Briton has teammate Alberto Bettiol helping him. Dan Martin is holding onto his lead; the Irishman has 1min 8sec on the maglia rosa.

02:52 pm

5km to go

The rangy climber from Preston, Hugh Carthy, stands tall on his pedals as the road inches up. Will these steep inclines favor the EF Education-Nippo rider, Egan Bernal, strike again, or will Dan Martin be the ninth breakaway winner at this year’s Giro?

02:48 pm

6km to go

Egan Bernal is riding the third wheel, just ahead of Damiano Caruso (second on general classification), while Hugh Carthy has his jersey unzipped, his mouth gasping for air. Time gaps between Dan Martin and the maglia rosa are concertinaing faster than the Irishman’s head is bobbing – there may be an issue with the transponders. It briefly dropped to 45sec but is back to 1min 21sec.

02:44 pm

7km to

Dan Martin is looking good, but with the might of Egan Bernal and a couple of Ineos Grenadiers on the front, he will have to dig deep into his library of experience to hold them off and take his first-ever stage win at the Giro d’Italia. Aleksandr Vlasov is cooked, the Russian has been dropped, and, as it stands, may be replaced by Simon Yates in the fourth. The Briton started the day just two seconds shy of Vlasov.

02:42 pm

8km to go

Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana-Premier Tech) and Giulio Ciccone, who admirably managed to get back on, are laboring a few bike lengths off the back of the maglia rosa’s group. Simon Yates and Hugh Carthy are in the same group as Egan Bernal, the former of whom may gain some time here Today to reignite his general classification ambitions at the Giro. But there’s a long way to go; this climb pitches up to an eye-watering 17% in its finale.

02:38 pm

9km to go

Dan Martin removes his sunglasses as he rides in the shade of the Sega di Ala; he briefly wipes the sweat from his eyes, then replaces his eye protection. Martin’s instantly recognizable, almost violent, riding style – head bobbing, left to right– is front and center as he leads the stage. His advantage has increased on the maglia rosa to 1min 35sec.

02:36 pm

10km to go

Simone Ravanelli is the first to be dropped by the breakaway. Giovanni Carboni follows before Gianni Moscon, and Geoffrey Bouchard, the mountain classification leader, also cracks. Antonio Pedrero briefly holds the wheel of Dan Martin before the Irishman rises out of his saddle and, with one single kick, drops the Spaniard, leaving him to be the lone leader of this stage.

02:32 pm

10km to go

And the maglia rosa’s group hits the bottom of the Sega di Ala; this is the first time the Giro d’Italia has tackled this climb, and it sounds like a brute.

The breakaway’s lead has dropped further still: 1min 15sec.

02:30 pm

11.25km to go . . .

. . . and onto the final climb, we go.

02:28 pm

12km to go

PieIne earlier breakaway, rejPieter Serry oins the maglia rosa group where his Deceuninck-Quick Step teammate Joao Almeida is positioned. The gap between this group and the stage leader has now dropped to below two minutes. A tense finale.

02:25 pm

15.5km to go

Giulio Ciccone works through the team cars before the Italian, who started the sixth day, takes another bike change. He’s burning up an awful lot of energy and has no teammates helping him get back on, which is a little odd, I must say.

02:23 pm

17km to go

Apologies, I missed this, but it looks like Giovanni Carboni and Simone Ravanelli have bridged over to Dan Martin’s group. That could be useful for Martin or whoever else is thinking of challenging the stage. This sextet of riders must work together as a cohesive unit to hold off maglia rosa’s group.

02:20 pm

18.5km to go

Following the stress of that descent, when Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo), Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (​Trek-Segafredo), Mikel Nieve (BikeExchange), and Nick Schultz (BikeExchange) all crashed, the stage leaders, the two chasers, and the maglia rosa’s group are onto the short flattish section that leads in the final climb of the day. This is the climb, remember, that Gianni Moscon said was as hard as Monte Zoncolan!

02:15 pm

21km to go

Remco Evenepoel is back in the saddle and the race, though trailing by some distance following that crash.

02:14 pm

23km to go

In front of the race, Dan Martin and his three breakaway companions lead the maglia rosa by 3min 10sec. In comparison, the chasing pair of Giovanni Carboni and Simone Ravanelli is about 15sec down.

02:12 pm

25km to go

Remco Evenepoel was one of those involved in the crash. The young Belgian is being checked over before he continues if he does.

02:10 pm

Ciccone crashes!

Giulio Ciccone is one of several riders to hit the deck on this descent. Four or five went down at speed, but I’m unsure who they were.

02:08 pm

28km to go

A pair of Italians – Giovanni Carboni (Bardiani-CSF-Faizane) and Simone Ravanelli (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec) – are off in pursuit of the leading quartet.

02:04 pm

31km to go

Bike change for Giulio Ciccone.

02:01 pm

35km to go

Plenty of jockeying for position as the chasing group nears the summit; Vincenzo Nibali is circling, his fin twitching, sat poised – but will the man they call the Shark of Messina attack?

02:00 pm

Bouchard is back!

Geoffrey Bouchard (Ag2r-Citroën) somehow managed to get back on before taking maximum points atop the Passo di San Valentino to extend his lead in the mountains classification. The quartet crests the summit and has an advantage of almost three minutes on the maglia rosa. Just heard, too, that Remco Evenepoel has regained contact with the chasing group, which is good going bearing in mind the speed at which they are tackling this category-one climb.

01:55 pm

40km to go

Egan Bernal has teammate Jonathan Castroviejo and Dani Martínez alongside him as the Ineos Grenadiers trio trail Mikel Nieve and fellow BikeExchange rider Tanel Kangert – Simon Yates is a few wheels down. Also interesting to notice Giulio Ciccone has two ​Trek-Segafredo teammates, one of whom is Vincenzo Nibali, who is, as you will know, a mean descender. Is Trek-Segafredo thinking af attacking once over the other side of this climb and testing the mettle of the maglia rosa?

01:48 pm

41km to go

Matteo Badilatti is dropped by Dan Martin’s group, which is around 4km from the summit.

01:48 pm

42km to go

Geoffrey Bouchard (Ag2r-Citroën), who is leading the mountains classification, is focused on catching Dan Martin as he sees the points atop the Passo di San Valentino that he may need to retain his maglia Azzurra Today.

01:46 pm

43km to go

Dan Martin looks sprightly; the Irishman spins away at a high cadence before putting in a fierce acceleration to split the group. Gianni Moscon manages to hold on, as does Matteo Badilatti (Groupama-FDJ) and Antonio Pedrero (Movistar), but the rest have been dispatched.

01:43 pm

43.5km to go

Dan Martin rises out of his saddle, Gianni Moscon holding onto the Irishman’s wheel on this steady and reasonably long climb. It’s a beautiful day out in northern Italy Today, where the riders have been able to leave their leg warmers and rain capes in the team cars and get some much-needed vitamin D.

01:38 pm

46km to go – Narváez is dropped

Egan Bernal lost a teammate after the BikeExchange-powered group dropped Jhonatan Narváez. Quite surprised at that, but presumably, the maglia rosa has enough confidence to hold on here and go toe-to-toe with any rider that wants to challenge him. Mikel Nieve, the talented Basque climber, is setting the infernal pace on the front for his BikeExchange teammate Simon Yates Today. Hugh Carthy has also lost teammates, t; theiton now has just Alberto Bettiol for company.

01:33 pm

47km to go

Andrea Pasqualon is caught by maglia rosa’s group, which will come as no surprise. The Italian is usually found contesting the bunch sprints and was presumably in the breakaway Today to help Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux teammates Quinten Hermans and Jan Hirt. The breakaway now comprises 11 riders.

01:28 pm

48km to go

BikeExchange is still on the front of maglia rosa’s group, pulling on the show for Simon Yates. Irishman Dan Martin is doing almost all of the heavy lifting at the front of the peloton.

01:25 pm

49km to go

The maglia rosa’s group has dropped Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-Quick Step). Interestingly, Gianni Moscon, who is from the region they are racing through Today, was interviewed earlier Today and says the final climb Today is as tricky as Monte Zoncolan!

01:21 pm

50km to go

BikeExchange returns to the front of the group containing the maglia rosa and the other general classification contenders. However, Michael Hepburn and Cameron Meyer have peeled off, having completed their shift for the day. They are very much onto the penultimate climb of the day, which is not too steep, not by Giro d’Italia standards, and averages around 7%.

01:15 pm

52km to go

The pace in the peloton whips up as BikeExchange, Ineos Grenadiers, Trek-Segafredo, and Astana-Premier Tech all battle for position, no doubt keen on reaching the bottom of the climb well-positioned.

01:14 pm

Jorgenson dropped from the breakaway.

As they hit the bottom of the climb, Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) drops off the pace; the tall American’s day looks done. Dries De Bondt (Alpecin-Fenix) had a mechanical a few minutes ago and has also popped.

01:12 pm

53km to go

BikeExchange moves another three riders towards the head of the bunch, including their team leader Simon Yates; a seat approaches the lower part of the ascent up towards Passo di San Valentino. The breakaway’s lead, as a result, drops to 3min 40sec.

01:06 pm

57.5km to go

Breakaway has increased its lead by a little to four minutes. I hope for Simon Yates’s sake that the Bury rider can do something here Today because his teammates are doing a lot of work. I’m a little worried that all they are doing is giving Ineos Grenadiers a rather generous free ride. They are going at a fair old lick – as we can see from the strung-out peloton, stretched out in a long single line of riders snaking behind Cameron Meyer et al.

12:57 pm

63.5km to go

The two-time Australian national champion, Cameron Meyer, has been putting in a significant shift on the front of the peloton, but at what cost? It will be interesting to see if Simon Yates can take anything from Today’s stage or if the chief beneficiary of BikeExchange’s efforts will be Ineos Grenadiers. They will be getting a free ride here Today.

12:45 pm

71km to go

As you can see below, rave leader Egan Bernal is surrounded by all but one teammate, Gianni Moscon, who is in the breakaway, as they follow the wheels of three BikeExchange riders (see sleeve bottom right). Ineos Grenadiers are followed closely by EF Education-Nippo, whose Hugh Carthy started the day third on general classification.

The breakaway leads the stage by 3min 35sec.

12:40 pm

76km to go

The breakaway has lost a little more time; they hold an advantage of 3min 30sec now and are around 25km from the start of the ascent up towards Passo di San Valentino. They need to gain a little more time to take the stage win this afternoon.

12:30 pm

83km to go

Breakaway’s advantage is down to 4min 10-sec thanks to work by Cameron Meyer and his two BikeExchange teammates on the front of the peloton.

12:28 pm

85km to go

Lovely day for a bike rides out in Trento Today.

12:20 pm

90km to go

This strong-looking breakaway is all working together, powering along on the flat section of Today’s stage towards the Passo di San Valentino. Gianni Moscon is in that 19-man group; the Ineos Grenadiers rider is local to the area, so he will know the roads well, not that that means he will find the two incoming climbs any easier!

12:07 pm

100km to go

Just under halfway into Today’s stage, there has been an exciting development on the front of the peloton. It appeared that Ineos Grenadiers were happy to ride on the show, protecting the maglia rosa while monitoring the gap on the breakaway, but that has changed. BikeExchange now has three riders going reasonably hard on the front. That injection of pace has led to the breakaway losing a bit of time. Presumably, this means Simon Yates, who endured a terrible stage on Monday, losing a couple of minutes on general classification, is feeling decent Today and fancies a crack at the scene and, potentially, hopes to claw back some vital seconds or minutes.

12:00 pm

As it stands . . .

There was just one non-starter Today, Victor Campenaerts (Qhubeka-Assos), meaning the 151-rider peloton passed through KM0 at 11.14 am (BST). It was a rapid start to the stage, which given that the profile started with a long downhill section will surprise nobody.

A flurry of early attacks, with a few small splits formed, before a decent-sized breakaway of 19 riders formed. With 105km of Today’s stage remaining, that group comprising Matteo Badilatti (Groupama-FDJ), Dries De Bondt (Alpecin-Fenix), Geoffrey Bouchard (Ag2r-Citroën), Giovanni Carboni (Bardiani-CSF-Faizane), Valerio Conti (UAE Team Emirates), Alessandro Covi (UAE Team Emirates), Felix Grossschartner (Bora-Hansgrohe), Quinten Hermans (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux), Jan Hirt (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux), Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar), James Knox (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Dan Martin (ISN), Jacopo Mosca (​Trek-Segafredo), Gianni Moscon (Ineos Grenadiers), Andrea Pasqualon (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux), Antonio Pedrero (Movistar), Simone Ravanelli (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec), Luis León Sánchez (Astana-Premier Tech) and Pieter Serry (Deceuninck-Quick Step) have a lead of 5min 10sec over the peloton.

07:25 am

What’s on Today’s menu?

Featuring 3,400 meters of vertical elevation over 193km, Today’s stage is another tough one that will favor the climbers. Theoretically, the in-form Egan Bernal is the favorite to win on the summit finish. However, with opportunities slowly fading into the mist for the Colombian’s rivals, could another grimpeur rise to the challenge?

Or will it be another day seeing a breakaway rider prevail? A staggering 50 percent of stages at this year’s Giro have been won from the breakaway – Taco van der Hoorn (stage three), Joe Dombrowski (stage four), Gino Mäder (stage six), Victor Lafay (stage eight), Mauro Schmid (stage 11), Andrea Vendrame (stage 12) and Lorenzo Fortunato (stage 14), Victor Campenaerts (stage 15) – so I don’t think anybody would be too surprised if another rider not involved in the battle for pink were to challenge for the honours.

The roadbook says: “This is a high mountain stage running entirely downhill at first and featuring a summit finish. The route travels the Val di Fassa, the Val di Fiemme, and the Pine plateau to Trento, moving to the right bank of the Adige.

“The course passes through Mori, climbs up to Passo San Valentino (see below profile), descends into Chizzola, and moves to the left bank of the Adige in Ala. Past Sdruzzina, the riders will negotiate the closing climb.

“The final climb is approx. 11km long (see below profile). The gradient hovers above 10% for the first 9.5km, with lengthy peaks exceeding 15% (topping out at 17-18%).

“After the last hairpins, leading into the Passo Fittanze plateau, the route continues with milder gradients to the finish line, on tarmac road.”

06:45 am

Catch up: Highlights from Monday’s stage

On a day blighted with technical issues due to the horrific weather conditions in the Italian Dolomites, live television pictures were, at best, intermittent. So this highlights package is pretty much what all of us glued to the gogglebox all day saw.

Speaking of what we ‘saw’ on Monday, Bernal must have seen his life flash before his eyes as he went over the Giau while he was chased by two er enthusiastic fans armed with chainsaws. As you do.

06:35 am

Ciao!

Hello and welcome to our live rolling blog from stage 17 at the Giro d’Italia, the 193-kilometer run from Canazei to Sega di Ala. The clock is ticking on several riders’ hopes and ambitions at this year’s race following Egan Bernal’s (Ineos Grenadiers) latest display of dominance during Monday’s shortened stage in the Dolomites. With just three mountainous backdrops remaining, including Friday’s, which has also been compressed with the Mottarone climb removed following Sunday’s cable car crash in which 14 people were killed, anybody wanting to challenge Bernal must act soon.

Before we look at Today’s stage, though, let’s remind ourselves about the standings in the top classifications. Having extended his lead in general, having descended into Cortina d’Ampezzo alone on Monday, Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) will wear the maglia rosa, or leader’s pink jersey, for the eighth day.

Given the nature of Monday’s stage, it will surprise nobody to learn that the upper echelons of the points classification remained the same as they were going into the scene. So Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) keeps hold of the maglia calamine, the Cyclamen jersey.

Geoffrey Bouchard (Ag2r-Citroën), the leader in the mountains classification, managed to get into the breakaway during stage 16, allowing him to take maximum points on the category one La Rosetta before Bernal crested the Giau first to close the gap on the Frenchman slightly courtesy of the extra 10 points on the Cima Coppi. Bouchard will wear the maglia azzurra, the blue jersey.

Alexandr Vlasov (Astana-Premier Tech) will again wear the maglia Bianca, or the white jersey, on behalf of the maglia rosa Bernal. Rider Team Nationality Time 1. Egan Bernal Ineos Grenadiers Col 66hr 36min 4sec 2. Alexandr Vlasov Astana-Premier Tech Rus 4min 18sec 3. Daniel Martínez Ineos Grenadiers Col 7min 17sec