Only one rider survived the breakaway on stage 17 atop Passo Brocon, as Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost) soloed to the victory, as Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) continued to increase his lead in the GC standings.
Pogačar used the final ascent of the 159km race from Selva di Val Gardena to the top of Passo Brocon to put more time into his rivals, not taking anything for granted when it comes to his dominant lead at the 2024 Giro d'Italia.
Pogačar, wearing the maglia rosa, surged on the upper slopes of the ascent with 2km to go and crossed the finish line in second place behind stage winner Steinhauser, but more importantly, finished 18 seconds ahead of his nearest rivals in the overall classification.
Pogačar increased his lead in the GC standings to 7:18 over runner-up Dani Martínez (Bora-Hansgrohe), who finished fifth on the day as part of a select chase group behind Pogačar.
Also in that chase group were Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious), Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers), Einer Rubio (Movistar) and Romain Bardet (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL).
Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) remains in third place overall but is now 8:04 behind Pogačar.
Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) struggled to hold the pace in that select chase group on the upper slopes of the Passo Brocon and was distanced with just under three kilometres to go. He finished in 12th place on the day but lost over a minute to Pogačar in the GC standings. While he remains in fourth overall, he is now 9:47 down.
Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) led the chase group over the line, and he finished in third place on the day but remains in fifth place overall at 10:29.
Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) also struggled to stay with the chase group behind Pogačar and lost time on the climb. He maintained his position in sixth place overall at 11:10 down.
Romain Bardet (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) remains in seventh overall at 12:42.
Further down the top 10, Einer Rubio (Movistar) moved up to one spot to eighth overall, now at 13:33 back, while Filipo Zanna (Jayco-AlUla) slid to ninth place, now at 13:52.
Jan Hirt (Soudal Quick-Step) rounds out the top 10 at 14:44 back.
The Giro d'Italia continues with a 178km stage 18 from Fiera di primiero to Padova on Thursday.
Giro d'Italia GC standings
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Giro d'Italia classifications
These are the jersey classification at the 2024 Giro d'Italia:
Click here for a more comprehensive rundown of all the classifications and prize money, including the intermediate sprints prize and the fighting spirit prize.
Maglia rosa – The pink jersey is worn by the overall race leader on the general classification who has completed the stages in the lowest accumulated time.
Maglia ciclamino – The cyclamen jersey indicates the points classification leader. Riders accrue points each stage at the two intermediate sprints and at stage finishes. The rider with the most points leads the ranking and wears the cyclamen jersey.
Maglia azzurra – The blue jersey is for the mountain classification. Points are handed out to the first riders over specific categorised hills and mountain climbs during the Giro. The highest and steepest mountains award the most points. The rider with the most points leads the ranking and wears the blue jersey.
Maglia bianca – The white jersey is for the leader of the best young rider classification. It is calculated b[based on the time races, like the maglia rosa, but only riders aged 25 or under are eligible to win it and wear it.
