Stage 20 of the Giro d'Italia to Alpe Motta was the last chance for Egan Bernal's rivals to exploit any weakness. Despite Damiano Caruso's successful attack to win the last mountain stage, the Ineos Grenadiers leader held fast to a comfortable lead in the overall standings.
Caruso attacked on the descent from the Passo San Bernardino along with his teammate Pello Bilbao and Team DSM's Romain Bardet and, together with Bardet's teammates, forged a gap of nearly a minute.
However, Ineos Grenadiers had their secret weapon Dani Martínez, who single-handedly nullified most of Caruso's advantage on the final climb. The Italian nabbed a three-second bonus at the sprint and ten seconds at the finish - four more than Bernal, to nudge the gap to the race leader down to 1:59.
It's hardly a worry for Bernal, but Caruso, the unexpected leader of Bahrain Victorious after the crash and abandon of Mikel Landa in the first week, has hardly put a foot wrong in this Giro d'Italia and heads into the final time trial in Milan with a buffer of 1:24 over third-placed Simon Yates (BikeExchange).
Watch the highlights of the eventful stage 20 above.
