Grey skies made for dark roads(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
An initial large break of 24 split up on the descent of La Crosetta with Davide Formolo (UAE Team Emirates),Gorka Izagirre (Astana-PremierTech), João Almeida (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Vincenzo Nibali (Trek -Segafredo) and Antonio Pedrero (Movistar) out the front(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) was among the initial break(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Tunnel through the landscape on stage 16 of the Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
The stage 16 break(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
The GC contenders are being shed even before the climb of Passo Giau really gets into gear, with Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana-Premier Tech) getting caught out with his jacket getting caught(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Simon Carr (EF Education-Nippo) giving his all to set up Carthy and dropping Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange) in the process(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Caruso and Bardet chased behind while Ciccone reeled Carthy back in before the top(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
The ever shrinking group of GC riders(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
About half way up the final climb Bernal decided it was time to ride away from the skeleton GC group of Romain Bardet (Team DSM), Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious), Hugh Carthy (EF Education-Nippo) and Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo)(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Bernal quickly swept up the riders in the break(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Before long Bernal had dropped them all(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Carthy and Ciccone also caught the last of the break before cresting the final climb, 17 kilometres from the end of the stage(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
The snow sprinkled climb of the Passo Giau(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
On the way to the top for Bernal(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Caruso on the chase(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Time to celebrate Bernal's second victory of the Grand Tour so far and an ever growing lead on the GC(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Sharing the celebrations with his partner(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Bardet and Caruso came over the line 27 seconds later(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Bardet took second and Caruso third(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Yates rolled over the line in 11th(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
The Team BikeExchange rider also shifted from second to fifth on the overall as a result(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Lars Van Den Berg (Groupama-FDJ) and teammate Simon Guglielmi celebrate just making it, coming over the line in 152nd and 151st place, 49 minute behind Bernal(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Bernal continues to look comfortable in pink(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Podium celebrations to finish the day(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Stage 16 of the Giro d’Italia was a day shaped massively by the weather, starting with alterations to the stage that cut two high mountains and 59 kilometres from the expected 212km of racing.
Despite the changes, the day still had a significant impact on the overall classification, hurting those who didn’t hold up under the conditions, while the patchy television coverage hid away the key moments of the racing.
Fortunately, the photographers were out on the peaks amid the snow to capture the spectacular vistas and stories of struggle and triumph as the battle for the maglia rosa climbed into the Dolomites.
Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) asserted his dominance, stretching out his lead but not desperate enough to take seconds that he couldn’t spare a few to strip off the dark rain jacket so he could have the maglia rosa on show as he took his second victory of the race so far.
Romain Bardet (Team DSM) finished second while Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) came third on the stage but shifted up to second on the overall.
Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange) all of a sudden looked vulnerable as he fell out of the small group of GC contenders before the climb of Passo Giau was even half over and slid down two places on the overall as he crossed the line 2:37 behind Bernal.
Then there was Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-QuickStep), who had already fallen from second to seventh, but now is barely in the top 20 after shelling more than 24 minutes as he suffered in the wet and cold on the climbs of the Dolomites.
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To look back on the photos that tell the story of the stage, and fill in the gaps left by the sometimes absent television images, click or swipe through our gallery of images.
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