Stage 14 of the Giro d'Italia brought the second and last time trial of the race, a flat 31.2km test ending on the shores of the picturesque Lake Garda in Lombardy.
On a course perfectly suited to Italian TT champion Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) the specialist duly took the win, though not before being forced to sweat by race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates).
The Slovenian put four seconds into Ganna at the first checkpoint but couldn't keep up the pace on the remainder of the run to Desenzano del Garda, eventually ending up second on the day at 29 seconds down.
He still gained time on all his GC rivals, however, adding 1:01 to his lead over second place, a spot now occupied by Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers), who moved up one spot in the rankings.
Thomas overhauled Dani Martínez (Bora-Hansgrohe) to take second place, putting 31 seconds into the Colombian to go 15 seconds clear. In fourth place, Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) holds firm, gaining four seconds on third place at 4:35 behind Pogačar.
Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) was another rider to put in a strong ride, holding fifth overall and gaining six seconds on O'Connor. He's now 5:17 down.
The big winner of the day among the top 10 is the former 10-placed man Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) who stormed to third place on the day, 1:07 down on Ganna. He jumps up to sixth overall, now 6:30 down on the race lead.
Behind him, Filippo Zana (Jayco-AlUla) also skips up a spot, while Romain Bardet (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) and Lorenzo Fortunato (Astana Qazaqstan) each drop two places to eighth and ninth overall.
Rounding out the top 10 is a new face in O'Connor's teammate Alex Baudin. The Frenchman jumped up three places in the time trial and now lies 8:56 off the lead and nine seconds up on the new 11th-place man Einer Rubio (Movistar), who drops from ninth place.
The GC battle will resume on Sunday with stage 15, the 222km queen stage of the Giro. The riders head back to the mountains to take on five classified climbs in the Alps, including the first-category tests of the Passo del Mortirolo, the Passo di Foscagno and the final summit finish at Livigno.
Giro d'Italia GC standings
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Giro d'Italia classifications
These are the jersey classification at the 2024 Giro d'Italia:
Click here for a more comprehensive rundown of all the classifications and prize money, including the intermediate sprints prize and the fighting spirit prize.
Maglia rosa – The pink jersey is worn by the overall race leader on the general classification who has completed the stages in the lowest accumulated time.
Maglia ciclamino – The cyclamen jersey indicates the points classification leader. Riders accrue points each stage at the two intermediate sprints and at stage finishes. The rider with the most points leads the ranking and wears the cyclamen jersey.
Maglia azzurra – The blue jersey is for the mountain classification. Points are handed out to the first riders over specific categorised hills and mountain climbs during the Giro. The highest and steepest mountains award the most points. The rider with the most points leads the ranking and wears the blue jersey.
Maglia bianca – The white jersey is for the leader of the best young rider classification. It is calculated b[based on the time races, like the maglia rosa, but only riders aged 25 or under are eligible to win it and wear it.
