Britain's Chris Froome won the 14th stage of the Giro d'Italia on Monte Zoncolan as compatriot Simon Yates extended his overall lead in the Alps.
With the peloton swiftly breaking up as riders tackled the gruelling final climb on the 186km stage from San Vito al Tagliamento, the four-time Tour de France winner surged clear to win by six seconds.
Yates, who rides for the Australian Mitchelton-Scott team, was second 31 seconds ahead of defending champion and nearest challenger Tom Dumoulin in the battle for the pink jersey.
Australia's Rohan Dennis, who led the race last week, fell to 11th after a 19th-placed finish on the stage. Compatriot Ben O'Connor of Dimension Data finished 16th.
With six bonus seconds for finishing second, Yates extended his overall advantage to 1:24.
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"I tried to go for the stage," Yates said. "I did my best to catch Chris. I just didn't have enough to get it. But as far as the Maglia Rosa is concerned, it's all good to be second here."
Froome, who dropped out of the top 10 earlier this week, moved up to fifth although the Team Sky rider is still more than three minutes behind Yates.
"We'll take it day by day, it's not over yet," Froome said.
"The team have supported me so well, to get the stage really means a lot.
"Even right to the line, Simon was right behind me.
"I didn't know if he was going to catch me. It was such a relief to get into that final 100 metres knowing I was going to win the stage."
