Alberto Dainese recovered from stomach problems to win stage 17 of the Giro d’Italia in a photo finish while Geraint Thomas finished safely to retain the leader’s pink jersey.
Dainese, who has been out sick for several days, edged the fast-approaching Jonathan Milan by the width of a tire at Caorle, with Michael Matthews a couple of inches further behind.
Mark Cavendish, still looking for his first win of the season a couple of days after announcing it would be his last as a pro, was near the front of the pack as they approached town.
But the Manxman lost position in one of two tight left-handers within the last two kilometers and was unable to contest the sprint, showing his frustration at crossing the line. There should be one more chance for a sprint in Sunday’s final stage in Rome.
Thomas was guided to the finish by his Ineos Grenadiers teammate Ben Swift, staying safe to maintain his 18-second lead over Joao Almeida in the overall standings, with Primoz Roglic sitting third, 29 seconds down.
That means the Welshman will spend his 37th birthday in pink when the race returns to the mountains on Thursday before the decisive weekend.
“It was a good day, a bit of rain, but nothing compared to what we’ve had so far,” Thomas said.
“It was a bit of a crazy ending, we’re happy to make it. We knew the sprint teams would be running at a decent pace and we were able to save as much as possible for the next three days.
“It will be nice (tomorrow), hopefully it will be a good day. There is a lot of work to do before (Sunday), we will do it tomorrow first”.
Before the mountains to come, this was a rare opportunity for sprinters, and their determination to seize it was made clear when a four-man breakaway that included Charlie Quarterman was offered little margin and little hope, never building much more than 90 seconds. advantage.
The last of those escapees, Senne Leysen, was caught with five kilometers to go of the 197 km of Pergine Valsugana, almost all of it flat or downhill.
As the sprint began, Matthews struck out first, but Dainese, who was running close to home in northeastern Italy, used his slipstream to come around to the right.
More surprising was the finish in Milan, who looked out of position at the final corner, but this Giro-form sprinter had the pace to come within millimeters of victory.
“This is crazy,” said Dainese, 25. “The first sprints didn’t go as planned, we did a good job but we never had a good result to show for it…
“In the last few metres, I was really digging deep. I saw Jonny coming, I couldn’t really launch my bike because I was on the limit, but it was good to get my wheel a few inches ahead to get the win.
“Especially after the last five days, I was quite sick with stomach problems and also my breathing was not good and today was the first day that I felt good. I’m super happy, I can’t thank my team enough for keeping me in the race and motivating me.”
