Giro d'Italia: Hindley takes Giro lead as Carapaz explodes on Fedaia, Alessandro Covi victorious

The balance that the Giro d'Italia had for three weeks was broken in the final ascent of the race, as Jai Hindley managed to crack Richard Carapaz and took the pink jersey on the final opportunity that he had to attack the Ecuadorian. Alessandro Covi took the stage win though, emerging as the strongest from the day's breakaway for UAE Team Emirates.

In the first hilltop of the day, as expected, the breakaway of the day went clear. 15 riders were in the group: Davide Formolo, Giulio Ciccone, Antonio Pedrero, Sam Oomen, Edoardo Zardini, Domen Novak, Andrea Vendrame, Davide Ballerini, Lennard Kämna, Thymen Arensman, Sylvain Moniquet, Mathieu van der Poel, Mauri Vansevenant, Alessandro Covi and Gijs Leemreize. The Passo san Pellegrino passed without any damage, and it was in the second ascent of the day where attacks began.

Alessandro Covi attacked with 52 kilometers to go with no chasing from the rest of the breakaway. He built a big gap over the final kilometers of the ascent and the following descent, as Bahrain - Victorious rode a conservative pace in the peloton - with no apparent reason to attack aswell.

Covi entered the final climb with over two minutes of lead, however it started being cut as the kilometers went by. Domen Novak attacked at the start of the steep section of the ascent, with Thymen Arensman and Giulio Ciccone closeby. However, despite having recovered some time, Covi managed to survive and take the biggest win of his career. Domen Novak and Giulio Ciccone finished second and third on the stage.

Behind INEOS Grenadiers started rising the pace in the final five kilometers, however it backfired as Jai Hindley attacked as soon as Carapaz made his move, and soon after managed to distance him in the brutal gradients of the Passo Fedaia. It was a dramatic finale to anti-climatic stage, as Hindley crossed the line 1:28 minutes before Carapaz, a brutal crack for Carapaz who has lost the opportunity to take the win at the Giro d'Italia.