Daniel Martínez returns to second overall after he sees Geraint Thomas struggling on stage 16: "I think a lot of guys found it tough going"

The shortened stage to Santa Cristina Valgardena played in favour of riders with ability to kick big watts on the 12% slopes of short final climb Monte Pana. Scenario that played perfectly into the hands of Daniel Martínez who seized this opportunity to jump into second overall with five stages left to race.

"The stage directly after a rest day can be a tricky one, especially with a hard parcours like today," Martínez points out in a press release to something his opponents Geraint Thomas and Ben O'Connor seemingly paid for on Tuesday as they both lost more than half a minute to the BORA - hansgrohe leader.

However for the Colombian climber that didn't appear to have been a big issue, as he appeared to be the second strongest among the classification on the day, and crossed the line third. "It was a cold day in the saddle for sure, and I think a lot of guys found it tough going. Despite the conditions, I felt good in the reduced GC group, and I’m really pleased with how I performed. I was able to make up time on Thomas and move back into second in the GC again."

Bora sports director Enrico Gasparotto was also pleased to see Martínez up the front: "With this profile, we knew Dani could do well, as it was a very steep finale. We tried to motivate the riders to give a good performance, and Dani did a great job. He confirmed once again that on mountaintop finishes, we are always right up there."

With sixteenth stage done and dusted, there are still five more to go for Martínez who appears to be a sure shot for the final podium. However the fight for second spot is still up for grabs, with the gap between Martínez and Thomas currently standing at 22 seconds. "There are still some tough stages to come, but we're in a good position heading forward," Martínez concludes.