Giro D'Italia 2016: Stage 17 Results, Updated Standings and Highlights

IAM’s Roger Kluge produced a brilliant piece of opportunistic cycling to clinch victory in Stage 17 of the Giro d’Italia on Wednesday.

With the sprinters winding up for the finish, the German made a bold late move for the line. It was a surge that proved to be decisive, as he came home before Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) and Nikias Arndt (Giant-Alpecin) could reel him in.

The flat stage was never going to prompt too much change in the general classification stakes, with Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo) still in control of the maglia rosa. His lead to Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge) stays at three minutes as they crossed the line simultaneously.

These are the results from another enthralling day in the Giro, per Sky Sports Cycling:

This is how things are shaping up in the hunt for overall glory, as the Dutchman took another crucial step to victory:

Position	Rider (Country)	Team	Gap
1	Steven Kruijswijk (Ned)	Team LottoNL-Jumbo	-
2	Esteban Chaves (Col)	Orica-GreenEdge	0:03:00
3	Alejandro Valverde (Spa)	Movistar Team	0:03:23
4	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita)	Astana Pro Team	0:04:43
5	Ilnur Zakarin (Rus)	Team Katusha	0:04:50
6	Rafal Majka (Pol)	Tinkoff Team	0:05:34
7	Bob Jungels (Lux)	Etixx-Quick-Step	0:07:57
8	Andrey Amador (CRc)	Movistar Team	0:08:53
9	Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita)	AG2R La Mondiale	0:10:05
10	Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr)	Dimension Data	0:11:03

Alert Kluge Takes 1st Major Stage Win

After a short stage of pulsating racing on Monday, the 196-kilometre run from Molveno to Cassano d’Adda was long, flat and tailored for a sprint finish. The Team Sky Twitter feed provided an in-depth look at the profile:

Still, there was a decent attempt at a breakaway from some riders, as Daniel Oss (BMC), Eugert Zhupa (Wilier Triestina-Southeast) and Pavel Brutt (Tinkoff) began to build a lead at the front, with the gap getting up to over two minutes at one point. 

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Oss, Brutt and Zhupa were working well off one another, trying to negate any hopes of a sprint finish. Meanwhile, back in the peloton, general classification leader Kruijswijk was well-protected by his colleagues, per the team’s Twitter feed:

This year’s Giro hasn’t been one for successful breakaways, though, and as the finish line edged closer into the view, the three-man effort was gradually reeled in, with Lars Bak (Lotto Soudal), Ignatas Konovalovas (FDJ) and Maxim Belkov (Katusha) making it a six-man lead group. The peloton were not far back, either.

With just 10 kilometres remaining in the stage, the peloton, including a lot of strong sprinters, were eating up the advantage to the lead group. And despite a few breaks from the leaders, eventually they were swallowed up by the glut of riders in pursuit.

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A bunch dash seemed inevitable at this juncture. But with the finishing line in sight, it was Kluge who piggybacked off a burst from Filippo Pozzato to move in front, which caught the sprinters off guard.

He even had time to celebrate his victory, with Nizzolo and Arndt quickly closing in, per Eurosport UK:

"I've been a pro for six years and this is the big victory I have been looking for. It's a dream," he said afterwards, per CyclingNews.com. "It wasn't planned at all. I was working for Heinrich Haussler, closing the gap for him but I saw a possibility to get away. The finishing line was very near."

Nizzolo will be disappointed not to have reacted to the break, as this was viewed as the ideal stage for him to take victory with the likes of Marcel Kittel, Arnaud Demare and Andre Greipel not involved.

As the event’s Twitter feed noted, falling just short is becoming a far too familiar feeling for the Italian:

The German was a surprise winner on the day, as many expected a quality sprinter to take the stage. But in an extremely tactical finish to the race, Kluge took his chance in the latter stages and clinched a win on a major tour for the first time in his career. Nizzolo, who received little help from his team-mates in fairness, will lament another opportunity for glory gone.

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Next up for the riders is the longest stage on this year’s tour, as they tackle the 240-kilometre slog from Muggio to Pinerolo. Again, the run is relatively flat, and despite a small incline in the latter stages, it’s unlikely to shake up the general classification too much. With a daunting ascent on Stage 19, the top men in the field may seek to hold something back.