Giro d'Italia: Viviani wins number four in Iseo

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Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) claimed his fourth win at the 2018 Giro d'Italia with a sprint victory in Franciacorta on stage 17. The rain had soaked the roads in the final kilometre, but the Italian didn't hold anything back on the slick roads as he beat Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) with Niccolo Bonifazio (Bahrain-Merida) in third place.

Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) finished safely in the pack to maintain his lead in the overall classification.

Before the day began, there was some discussion as to whether stage 16 would end in a bunch gallop or a breakaway win. Most expected that it would be left to the fast men to duke it out but they were left in little doubt with a concerted effort from the Bora-Hansgrohe team stopping any breakaway building a real advantage on the bunch behind.

Unlike previous sprint stages, Quick-Step Floors played it quietly and stayed off the front for most of the day, while Viviani sat in the group trying to conserve his energy. Aside from a couple of breakaway attempts from Zdenek Stybar, the Belgian team only moved to the front inside the final two kilometres.

Danny van Poppel (LottoNL-Jumbo) was the first to launch his sprint, under the torrential rain that doused the finish line, but Fabio Sabatini dispatched Viviani perfectly, and the Italian had a clean run to the line. Viviani's win puts him equal with his teammate Fernando Gaviria, who also took four stages at last year's Giro d'Italia.

How it happened

The final week of the Giro d'Italia continued with a 155-kilometre stage from Riva del Garda to Iseo. It would be another picturesque day out, not that the riders would have time to admire it. With a climb from kilometre zero, and many taking the time trial as a second rest day, stage 17 was always going to be a challenging stage, but few could have predicted just how challenging it would be.

A mechanical issue for one of the Quick-Step Floors riders delayed the start, and the neutral section lasted past kilometre zero, but once the action began it barely relented. Groups upon groups of riders went clear on the climb, but none were able to build a sustainable lead. Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) was one of the most active at the front, and he expressed his displeasure at the situation with a one-finger salute, though it was unclear who exactly it was directed at.

Bora-Hansgrohe were the main protagonists in the chase, putting a handful of men on the front of the peloton to drive the pace. Their efforts immediately sparked rumours that Viviani had been dropped as the group split to pieces on the opening, unclassified climb, but the maglia ciclamino was eventually located.

UAE Team Emirates, with Diego Ulissi in their line-up, lent a hand to the chase, helping to blow apart the peloton. Chris Froome (Team Sky) and Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) were among those that were caught behind the splits, but they would eventually make the juncture.

The leaders would once again be reeled back in with Sanchez expressing his emotions with a distinctly sarcastic 'OK' hand gesture. With two-thirds of the stage remaining, a group of 22 jumped off the front. Sanchez was once again a part of the group, along with teammate Davide Villella, a plethora of Androni Giocattoli riders, Alessandro De Marchi (BMC Racing) and Giovanni Visconti (Bahrain-Merida). However, in the time it took to figure out who had made it across, the group was already brought back.

Team Sky gave some of their riders free rein with David de la Cruz, Salvatore Puccio, Kenny Elissonde and Wout Poels all going in the breakaway at some point during the day. Ever expressive, Sanchez yet again signalled his frustration with a resigned hand gesture. This time it was directed at Poels, who started the day 10:07 behind the pink jersey.

Perhaps the most solid looking of the breakaway attempts was a combined effort from Ben Hermans (Israel Cycling Academy), De Marchi and Sanchez. Despite the inclusion of Poels, much to the dismay of Sanchez, the group got 1:20 on the peloton behind. It was large by the day's standard. Poels took a few seconds by winning the intermediate sprint, but it was a minor gain in the overall standings.

Unsurprisingly, Poels would be the first to depart the breakaway, but the writing was already on the wall for the escapees. Bora-Hansgrohe were still doing a shift on the front, this time with the assistance of LottoNL-Jumbo. Attacks continued to litter the final kilometres, but there were too many teams invested in the sprint to let it go.

The peloton raced most of the day under dry and sunny conditions, but the skies opened on the riders with two kilometres remaining. The wet weather had the potential to throw a spanner in the works, but thankfully everybody made it around the final corners in one piece.

Sabatini led the bunch into the final stretch, but it was Van Poppel that went for it first. There was no panic as Sabatini peeled off and enjoyed watching his teammate Viviani quickly overtake the Dutchman, and secure yet another sprint win.