Trentin surprises Moser for stellar stage 18 win

Etixx-QuickStep used their numerical advantage in the break perfectly as the returning Trentin took Cannondale's Moser completely by surprise at the conclusion of the longest stage of the race – a 240-kilometre slog from Muggio in northern Italy.

A beaming Brambilla – who wore the leader’s pink jersey for two days after his own emphatic stage eight victory in Arezzo earlier in the race – settled for third place having led Moser over the decisive second-category climb of Pramartino inside the final 20 kilometres.

The leading duo had 30 seconds to play with over a chasing quartet of Nikias Arndt (Giant-Alpecin), Sacha Modolo (Lampre-Merida), Ivan Rovny (Tinkoff) and Trentin, who were riding in pursuit from an initial 24-man break that formed early in the stage.

Trentin, the rangy 26-year-old from Borgo Valsugana in Trentino and a double stage winner on the Tour de France, managed to drop the other chasers on the short but sharp cobbled San Maurizio climb 2.5km from the finish as he continued his unlikely pursuit of the leaders.

Once Brambilla saw that his team-mate was closing in, he sat back and let Moser – who appeared completely unaware of the danger – do all the work. Moser then had his pocket picked when Trentin surged past with just metres to spare to take the first Giro stage win of his career with panache.

Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo) finished safely with the main favourites more than 13 minutes in arrears to retain the maglia rosa ahead of two decisive days in the high Alps.

With the Alpine double header on the horizon, Thursday’s long stage was always going to favour the breakaway specialists – and it took just 15 kilometres for a strong group to form off the front of the peloton.

The 24-man break boasted riders from 15 teams – a stellar cast that included serial escapee Daniel Oss (BMC), Lampre-Merida duo Modolo and Matej Mohoric, three Tinkoff riders in Pavel Brutt, Jay McCarthy and Rovny, Moser and his Cannondale team-mate Ramunas Navardauskas, and the previous day’s winner, Germany’s Roger Kluge (IAM Cycling).

With the LottoNL-Jumbo team of race leader Kruijswick under no pressure, the advantage of the break quickly swelled to 10 minutes as it became clear that one of the 24 escapees would stand atop the podium in Pinerolo.

A flat opening two-thirds gave way to a rolling finale as Mohoric, Brutt and Olivier Le Gac (FDJ) all tried their luck off the front of the break. Russian veteran Brutt managed to build up a slender 20 second lead but he was reeled back in shortly after the riders passed by the finish line and tackled the cobbled San Maurizio ramp ahead of a finishing circuit that would take the race up the double-digit climb of Pramartino.

Brambilla and Moser rode clear after Rovny made a dig shortly after the start of the 4.5km climb. Rovny joined forces with Arndt near the summit before being joined by Modolo and Trentin on the descent. With Brambilla setting the tempo ahead, the leading duo held an advantage of 35 seconds on the flat run-in towards Pinerolo in what appeared to be shaping into a two-way battle for the win.

Rovny overcooked the tight bend ahead of the cobbled climb of San Maurizio to whittle the chase group down to three men – but the gap was still apparently 15 seconds as the riders passed under the flamme rouge after the steep, narrow descent.

Just as it looked like Brambilla and Moser were preparing themselves for a two-up sprint, Trentin surged around the final bend and kept his momentum going right to the line, punching the air in celebration with his jersey still fully unzipped.

Back with the peloton it was a battle of attrition for the main GC favourites as Kruijswijk was protected by his Italian team-mate Enrico Battaglin on both the climbs and descents before the Dutchman kept tabs on a lively Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) in the finale. The Spanish veteran led the main pack over the line as Kruijswijk retained his three-minute lead over Colombian Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge) on GC.

Etixx-QuickStep have been ridiculed for their tactics at times during the past two spring classic seasons but on Thursday they got things spot on. In Gianluca Brambilla – the strongest climber in the break – and Matteo Trentin – the fastest finisher – the Belgian team had all bases covered. And the look on Moreno Moser’s face when Trentin surged past from nowhere on the home straight was priceless.

“I was very, very good but Trentin has good legs too,” said Brambilla. “I tried to keep Moser on the front and tired. I couldn’t make the difference myself and when I saw the blue jersey coming behind I played it for him. It was a great team victory.”

As for Trentin, he said: “Brambilla was perfect in the front because he didn't have to pull because I was behind. Cannondale had to win, so all the stress was on them, not on us. I managed to go away in the last climb, I just put all the power I could on the pedals and it was just perfect.”

Third in Arezzo on the day Brambilla won, and now second behind Trentin in Pinerolo: Moreno Moser is getting there, but time will probably run out before he can get a win on this Giro. With Moreno in the Brambilla mould and Ramunas Navardauskas a foil for Trentin, Cannondale also had strong cards to play. They just had no answer to the surprise Joker played at the death.

It wasn’t a great day, either, for BMC’s Stefan Kung, who was in the 24-man break but crashed heavily on one of the hairpin bends of the uncategorized Colletta di Cumiana around 55km from the finish – the second time the Austrian youngster has hit the deck in this Giro following his spill in the opening time trial at Apeldoorn.

Does Steven Kruijswijk have this Giro wrapped up? The Dutchman was certainly riding with the assurance of a Grand Tour winner ahead of his big Alpine date with destiny. The next two days will reveal all.

The first of two back-to-back days in the high Alps features the snow-capped Colle dell’Agnello – the Cima Coppi, or highest point of this year’s race – ahead of a finish in the French ski resort of Risoul.