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Britain’s Simon Yates claimed his second stage win of this year’s Giro d’Italia as Richard Carapaz claimed the overall lead from Juan Pedro Lopez.
This year’s race was blown open on a thrilling stage 14, with Carapaz breaking away with 28km left.
But Yates, 29, was among a trio that caught the 2019 winner before the Team BikeExchange-Jayco rider raced clear to claim his sixth Giro stage win.
Jai Hindley edged second from Carapaz, who he trails by seven seconds overall.
Lopez, who had the pink jersey for 10 straight days and came into Saturday with a 12-second lead over Ineos rider Carapaz, dropped off the back of the chasing pack after the Ecuadorian’s break and is now more than four minutes off the lead.
Yates’ hopes of being in contention for the general classification title and his second Grand Tour win, after the 2018 Vuelta a Espana, were dashed as he endured a difficult day on stage nine.
The Bury rider, who injured his knee in a crash during stage four, was dropped on the gruelling climb to Blockhaus and lost more than 11 minutes.
But he showed his class in temperatures of more than 30C in Turin by reeling in Carapaz, after Hindley’s Bora-Hansgrohe team put the pressure on Lopez by launching the initial breakaway midway through the stage.
Asked if Saturday’s win made up for stage nine, Yates replied: “Not really. I mean, not to put a downer on the day but I came here to win the race. For me it’s another stage [win].
“I hope the legs stay as good as today. It was a really big effort, not just for me but for everybody.
“The gaps are enormous, so if this heat sticks around it’s going to be a very hard final week.”
More to follow.