Stelvio destroys Joao Almeida and leaves the Giro in a handkerchief

• Classifications.This is the Giro

Joao Almeida's dream of winning the Giro was cruelly destroyed in

, in a monumental day of cycling that leaves the 'Corsa Rosa' red hot.

The new leader is Wilco Kelderman, who had a hard time but managed to survive such a wild day, but everything is more than open for the triple ascent to Sestriere on Saturday and the final time trial on Sunday.

Because his teammate and stage winner Jay Hindley is only 13 seconds behind him and Tao Geoghegan Hart threatens them both 16 seconds behind the Dutchman.

[Narration and classifications]

The Stelvio, in short, has turned the Giro upside down, completely rewriting the script written so far.

The fireworks, the peseta attacks and the fight for bonuses to light a new race that will have to be solved in just two episodes ended this Thursday.

Kelderman is the leader, Hindley and Geoghegan are the strongest,

has nothing to lose and the rest are already comparsas, including Almeida who left 4:51 in the finish line and is now fifth in the general, at 4:51.

It didn't take a single attack on the entire stage for the Giro to witness a memorable chapter in its recent history.

The Stelvio, with

, was the instrument of torture that brought out the weaknesses of so many, the strengths of a few.

At the pace set by Kelderman and Hindley's Sunweb, Almeida was forced to give in when there were still 10 long kilometers to go to the top, 50 still for the end of the stage.

Behind him, the Majka, Konrad, Bilbao, Nibali, Fuglsang were losing wheel ... A scuffle.

The Rohan Dennis exhibit

And the worst was still missing, which came with the signature of Dennis, that wayward runner with superlative quality when he feels like it.

And this Thursday he felt like it like never before.

He led the group of favorites and only his teammate Geoghegan, Hindley and Kelderman could follow.

The Dutchman, however, was short-lived.

Dennis blew him away and the

had to decide what to do, whether to leave Hindley with him or allow him to make his way alongside the two Ineos.

And he decided to play both tricks, leaving Kelderman to fate.

Dennis completed the climb at the head and controlled the descent without difficulty.

Well, for Hindley there was one, even on the last uphill ramps, when he was almost unable to

.

In fact, he did not fasten it because he did not know how to do it.

And the 3 degrees at the top and the snow on the slopes recommended shelter.

The Sunweb is expected to go to a sports store tomorrow to buy raincoats with velcro.

Kelderman held close to the leading trio, about 40 seconds away, on the arrival to the flat, in which Dennis put himself in locomotive mode and managed that Hart, Hindley and he doubled the distance with the Dutch in just seven kilometers.

At the start of

, the last climb (9.5 km. At 6.7%), Dennis pulled away and everything was left to Geoghegan and Hindley.

Behind, Kelderman suffered like never before, being easily passed by

.

The Spaniard, always there but in the background in this Giro, made an extraordinary final ascent, reaching only 46 seconds behind the best two and presenting his credentials for the podium, who knows if even for something else.

It will be tremendously difficult for him to reach the pink, but not impossible, and that speaks clearly of the merit of the cyclist from Gernika, who has chained Tour and Giro.

Geoghegan was forced to pull Hindley throughout the final climb, as the Australian was not going to shoot with the still leader behind him.

This meant that, when the final sprint had arrived, the Sunweb rider passed the Briton without too much trouble to win the stage at

.

He played two-handed for the Sunweb and now has two chances to win the Giro, but it seemed Hindley could have distanced Geoghegan had he been given the freedom to do so.

We will never know and now what remains to be discovered is who is crowned in Milan.

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