Esteban Chaves made a big statement for Australian team Orica-GreenEDGE as he won the brutal "queen" stage of the Giro d'Italia.
The little Colombian climber thrived as race favourites Vincenzo Nibali and Alejandro Valverde each struggled on the 210km route through the heart of the Dolomite Range from Alpago to Corvara.
He attacked repeatedly on the final climbs claimed victory on the tour's 14th and toughest stage in a three-man sprint from Dutch rider Steven Kruijswijk and Austria's Georg Preidler.
Signed as a potential grand tour winner, the 26-year-old Chaves placed fifth in last year's Vuelta a Espana and is on track to improve on that result as he chases a podium finish in the three-week race.
He is now placed third overall, 1m32s behind new leader Kruijswijk.
Nibali crossed fifth, 37 seconds behind, and is second in the overall standings, 51 seconds ahead of Chaves.
"Everyone was riding at their limits," said Chavez.
"Kruijswijk started his attack then I tried to follow. It was a steep climb and then we saw Nibali was dropped so we started to work together.
"After 5000 metres of climbing I'm tired but I'm really really happy.
"Winning the Queen stage at the Giro d'Italia is really special.
"This is not only for me but for the team who worked really well today.
"There is a lot of this race left and this is great but we will see what happens tomorrow."
Orica-GreenEDGE team director Matt White was unstinting in his praise for Chaves.
"Esteban (Chaves) rode a very smart race today,", said White.
"It was probably the hardest stage you will see in any race this year and he waited brilliantly for the perfect moments to go on the attack.
"We definitely saw who the best climbers were because there was nowhere to hide out there today.
"Esteban has been feeling good and the team did another fantastic job of protecting and supporting him into the final third of the stage."
White said the team were now in a great position now going into the crucial uphill individual time trial on Sunday.
Share
