Maglia rosa hits snow bank, faces chase of Chaves, Nibali
Pink jersey Dutch Steven Kruijswijk (Lotto NL) rides during the 18th stage of the 99th Giro d'Italia
Giro d'Italia leader Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNl-Jumbo) withstood the pressure of Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge) on the Coll dell'Agnello but came to grief at the start of the descent. The Dutch rider ran into the three-meter high snow bank but was able to get back up and chasing with the help of neutral support.
Meanwhile, Nibali and Chaves kept racing on the descent, opening up a gap of more than a minute. Kruijswijk began the stage with three minutes on Chaves, and 4:43 on Nibali.
Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), third overall at 3:23, was distanced on the climb, but passed Kruijswijk on the descent when the LottoNl-Jumbo rider stopped to change bikes.
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