Joao Almeida was 14 seconds ahead of his Giro d'Italia rivals, but was again unable to catch the steady Portuguese rider who holds third place overall, 44 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.

Richard Calapaz (Ineos Grenadiers), Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), and Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious) gradually closed the distance to Almeida as the gradient on Valico di Santa Cristina tightened, but Almeida never gave in and fought for every second. Almeida kept them both in sight on the 10.1% gradient through the trees and chased them down the short descent and along the valley road to Aprica.

Hindley won the sprint for third place and got a four-second bonus second, but Almeida ran right behind him, as he had consistently done in 2020 and 2021, and despite losing a few seconds, dealt a psychological blow to his Big Three rivals.

"It was a super hard stage with 5,000 meters of climbing. It was all about the legs. I like to ride at my own pace, but I was on full throttle and had nothing left," he told Cycling News and VeloNews in the mixed zone after the race.

"It was a hard day, fast from the start. But I felt good and managed to hold on, so I'm happy. Maybe I was a little weaker than the other riders, but tomorrow will be different. It could be worse, one less day, but I'll keep fighting."

Almeida is the modern day Giro d'Italia stable king. He is virtually impossible to crack and always fights back. His perseverance and fastidious racing style have already earned him a reputation as a modern-day Miguel Indurain, proving he has the endurance and determination to endure three weeks of hard racing and podium battles.

Almedia calls the seconds he lost important, but is aware that he is still in the fight for the overall win and the final podium. He is now 44 seconds ahead of Calapaz, 41 seconds ahead of Hindley, and 15 seconds ahead of Landa. Vincenzo Nibali has moved up to fifth overall, but is still 3:40 behind.

Almeida will not be able to make up any more time on the steep climbs in the second half of stage 17 or on Saturday's mountain finish in Marmolada, but he does have an advantage in the final 17.4 km time trial around Verona.

In 2020, when Hindley was battling Tao Geoghegan Hart for the Maria Rosa, Almeida was 56 seconds ahead of the Australian in the fast, flat 15.7km Milan time trial; in 2021, overall winner in the 30.3km time trial Egan Bernal by 1:26.

"Everything is still on the table," Almedia insisted, with the 17.4 km Verona time trial dangling before him like a virtual carrot.

"There's a time difference, but nothing is lost; after 5,000 meters of climbing, I don't think 15 seconds or so is a big deal. The rest of the race is all about the legs and I need to keep fighting."