O’connor gets into groove with victory on Madonna di Campiglio
Australian Ben O' Connor made up for a previous second-place finish as he claimed victory on stage 17 of the Giro d' italia with a solo effort on Madonna di Campiglio.
The NTT Pro Cycling rider had to be content with runn er-up to Jan T rat nikon Tuesday, missing out over the final climb.
O' Connor, though, go this stage 17 tactics spot on across the 203km from Bassano del Grappa, which saw four categorised climbs.
The 24- year-old stayed in touch with the 14-riders breakaway which had built a sixminute advantage and then attacked eight kilometres from the finish to power clear and secure what was a moraleboosting first Grand Tour win.
Hermann Pernsteiner was 31 seconds back for BahrainMclaren while Belgian Lotto- Soudalr acer Thomas De Gendt crossed in third place.
O'connor was pleased to be able to put the disappointment of the previous stage behind him.
"Yesterday's second place left me feeling pretty bitter," said the Australian, who does not have a contract for 2021 and his NTT team are without a sponsor so could yet be forced to fold. Today I was able to bounce back and get this success, it's a dream to get a victory in a Grand Tour."
Portugal' s Jo ao Al me ida retained the overall Maglia
Rosa lead in the general classification standings.
The Deceuninck-quickstep rider successfully neutralised an attack from Sunweb to protect his 17-second advantage over Dutchman Wilco Kelderman and Jai Hindley, who is almost three minutes off the pace. "Today it was a hard day, a lot of climbing, but I had the perfect team with me," Almeida said. "That's one more day in the Maglia Rosa.
"Team Sun web tried to attack, but I was feeling good. Tomorrow it's another day, I look forward to it."
On Thursday, as the Giro d'italia will cover 207km from Pinzolo to Laghi di Cancano, on the penultimate mountain stage which features a testing trek up the Passo dello Stelvio.
A late solo attack from Marc Soler saw the Movistar rider claim victor y on stage two of the Vuelta a Espana, with Primoz Roglic retaining the red jersey.
Soler made his move on the final descent in Lekunberri, Pamplona to overcome the windy conditions and claim a maiden Grand Tour victory.
Britain' s Chris Froo me, though, lost more time in the general classification standings.
Spaniard Sole rh ad safely navigated a group of horses which came out of the trees on the roadside to attack the breakaway around 14 kilometres out and finished 19 seconds ahead of Roglic and Ireland's Daniel Martin.
"This was a stage we really wanted to win and we had studied the roads this week," Soler said to reporters following his victory. This is my first win in a Grand Tour and I'm very happy about that.
"It pays us back for all the hard work done during what has been a ver y difficult year. It is great for all the team and I can only thank them for their support." Team Jumbo-Vis ma rider Roglic remains nine seconds ahead of Martin, with Richard Carapaz third for Ineos Grenadiers, 11 seconds off the pace.