Chris Froome dug in on a brutal final climb of the Monte Zoncolan to win stage 14 of the Giro d'Italia and Simon Yates finished second to stretch his overall lead to a minute and 24 seconds.

Froome's quest to complete a Grand Tour treble has not gone to plan, but the Team Sky rider showed what he is made of by going solo and holding off fellow Brit Yates with rain falling to seal his first Giro stage win on one of the toughest ascents in cycling.

The five-time Grand Tour champion attacked with 4.2km to go and grit his teeth to cross the line six seconds ahead of Yates, who produced another magnificent ride to strengthen his grip on the maglia rosa.

Froome's victory ensured he has now won a stage on each of the three Grand Tours and moved him up to fifth place, three minutes and 10 seconds back from Yates.

It was another fruitful day for the race leader, who moved away from his GC rivals to go in pursuit of his compatriot in the closing stages of a 186km ride from San Vito al Tagliamento.

Yates passed another huge test with a strong climb to increase his advantage over defending champion Tom Dumoulin.

Mitchelton-Scott rider Yates gained another 31 seconds on Dumoulin, who showed grit to limit the damage after seeing the race leader dart away from what had been a group of eight out in front before the two Englishmen made their moves. 

Thibaut Pinot's title hopes suffered a setback as he finished sixth behind Dumoulin, leaving the Frenchman a minute and 46 seconds adrift of Yates.

Domenico Pozzovivo is up to third in the GC standings after taking third spot in a brutal stage, which Igor Anton led on the lower slopes following an attack with 9km to go before he was caught by the GC group.

 

FROOME LIFTS THE GLOOM

Froome's chances of pulling off a clean sweep appear to be slim but he made his presence felt on Saturday.

The 32-year-old was given great support from Wout Poels, who was seventh after putting in the hard yards for his team-mate.

Froome put the hammer down on the daunting Zoncolan and had enough in the tank to see it through after a few glances to check on the chasing Yates.

On a day when many British eyes were on Windsor for the royal wedding, Froome and Yates flew the flag by sealing only the second British Giro one-two.

Froome had to take evasive action to avoid a clash with a fan dressed as a dinosaur on the side of the road on a sheer last climb of the day and nothing was going to stop him from claiming a maiden Giro stage win.

 

STAGE RESULT

1. Chris Froome (Team Sky) 3:56:25
2. Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) +0.06
3. Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain-Merida) +0.23
4. Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) +0.25 
5. Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) +0.37


CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) 6:19:51
2. Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) +1:24
3. Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain-Merida) +1:37

Points Classification

1. Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) 237
2. Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) 197
3. Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott)) 98

King of the Mountains

1. Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) 70
2. Esteban Chaves (Mitchelton-Scott) 47
3. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) 40

 

NEXT UP

Aching limbs will come in for another test in the Dolomites on Sunday, with a series of consecutive climbs to come before a flat final kilometre on a 176km ride from Tolmezzo to Sappada.