In the Piazza d'Italia in Lavarone, Richard Calapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) climbed out of the saddle for the last time and sprinted as hard as he could. He had already failed to pull away from the Giro d'Italia's top three in the Passo del Menador, but now Maria Rosa was going to see what she could shake off in the last few meters of stage 17.

Stage winner Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) and the rest of the breakaway had already earned a bonus second, but Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) saw the danger and immediately caught up with the acceleration of Karapas, crossing the line just behind him. Fellow rider Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious), however, was not as sharp. Several bike lengths translated into six seconds on the line.

The team in Calapaz used to tout its dedication to the "aggregate of marginal gains." In this stalemate in the Giro d'Italia, the Ecuadorian has repeatedly pointed to the importance of what he calls "los mínimos detalles" (minimal details).

In a race where the lead over Hindley is just three seconds with four stages to go, it is small wonder. But while the mere seconds taken away from Landa was a psychological benefit for Calapaz, the 1:10 lead over Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) was even more significant.

"Yesterday I lost a few important seconds in the bonuses, but it's little details like that that matter," said Almeida. Moments like that during the race are crucial. And again today, when Bahrain pushed hard all the way up the final climb, Almeida started to lose a little bit of time. It's the little things that make a big difference."

Despite the exploration by Carapaz, Hindley, and Landa in this biggest mountain of the Giro, no big gaps have been made so far. The Bahrain Victorias team led by Landa took the lead on the Passo del Menador on stage 17, but it was Hindley who looked the most comfortable on the steep gradients that followed. Kalapas never looked like losing contact.

"Landa is at a very good level and so is Hindley. Like I said before, I think the details will decide the overall," Kalapas said.

The top three in the overall remained deadlocked, at least until the final sprint in Lavarone, where they finally managed to distance themselves from Dangerman Almeida, whose aptitude for the clock made him a threat in the final time trial in Verona on Sunday.

Almeida fought hard on this climb up the Menador, but his fate was sealed by the smooth partnership of Calapaz, Landa, and Hindley on the plateau 8km from the finish. Almeida is now 1:54 behind Calapaz in the overall standings, and his hopes for pink are fading.

"Bahrain did a great job today to drop Almeida. Bahrain did a great run to drop Almeida. After that, the three of us were able to run at a good tempo. Bahrain did a great job running today," Karapas said.

Kalapas has Maria Rosa on his back, but he has yet to convince her in this Giro, as he did when he won in 2019. His sharp attack on the climb of Sperga on stage 14 was initially a race-defining move, but his impressive solo run was quickly put back by Hindley on the following climb of Colle della Maddalena.

Since then, Kalapas has been unable to shake off Hindley and may have to rely on the Verona time trial to secure this Giro. It is worth noting, however, that although Kalapas has a reputation for being stronger in time trials, he was only 6 seconds behind Hindley on the second stage in Budapest.

"In the end, I think I had very good legs and I ran the race smart," Karapas said Wednesday when asked to assess the progress of conditions during the Giro.

"We still have two important stages left before the stage in Verona. This week is an important moment for all of us. We are all feeling tired, so I think the small details will be important. Day by day, there will be people losing time."

Given the small margins, Friday's Santuario di Castelmonte should spark a podium battle, but the Dolomites Tappone over San Pellegrino, Pordoi, and Fedaia the following day has the potential to force even larger margins as the race crosses 2,000 meters in elevation for the first and last time. It has the potential to force a bigger gap.

"The last mountain stage has a high elevation climb, which will suit Richard more than the other stages," Carapace teammate Pavel Sivakov suggested Wednesday.

Carapaz, meanwhile, seemed to be hoping that his trump card would be his endurance over the three weeks, his ability to outrun his opponents. Almeida stalled in the menador and Landa is now a minute behind, but Hindley continues to show signs of closing the distance.

"Today was a pretty hard day, I've had a pretty hard day," Kalapas said. "Little by little, the rough standings are being set.

For better or worse, there are still a lot of little details left to be worked out before the big picture comes into focus in Verona.