Alberto Contador was wet, cold but happy after finishing second behind Philippe Gilbert but ahead of main rival Fabio Aru on the uphill finish in Vicenza. Contador picked up six bonus seconds for his efforts and also gained eight seconds on Aru in the surge to the finish, after the young Sardinian was unable to hold the wheels. He now leads Aru by 17 seconds, with his Astana teammates Mikel Landa and Dario Cataldo third and fourth at 55 seconds and 1:30 respectively.
The Tinkoff-Saxo team leader has suffered in the first half of the Giro d'Italia as Astana went on the attack and his shoulder injury seemed to be a significant handicap. However, with the vitally important 59.4km time trial just 48 hours away, Contador seems to have the upper hand. He has three Astana behind in the general classification but his sharp jabs in Aru’s ribs seem to have revealed a weakness, even if Aru claimed he had simply had a bad day and failed to eat properly in the rain.
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