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Giro d'Italia: Vincenzo Nibali takes positives from stage 14

Vincenzo Nibali, Giro d'Italia 2016 stage 14
Image: Vincenzo Nibali lost time to Steven Kruijswijk on stage 14

Vincenzo Nibali insisted there were positives to take from stage 14 of the Giro d'Italia, despite losing time to new race leader Steven Kruijswijk.

Nibali was dropped when Kruijswijk attacked on the last of six categorised climbs and the Italian finished 37 seconds down, leaving him 41 seconds behind the Dutchman in second overall.

However, Nibali took solace from the fact his earlier attack had distanced fellow pre-race favourite Alejandro Valverde, who went on to lose three minutes.

When asked his feelings on the stage, Nibali said: "Half and half. I'm happy to have dropped Valverde.

"[Esteban] Chaves and Kruijswijk did a really strong attack today. I suffered with the change of rhythm. I had to let them go and measure the effort.

Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk of team Lotto NL celebrates the pink jersey of the overall leader on the podium of the 14th stage of the 99th Giro d'Italia
Image: Kruijswijk leads Nibali by 41 seconds overall

"I was close for a while, but I couldn't get back. It was quite windy and they were doing turns, so it was easier for them to get time than for me to get back on.

"We have dropped Valverde - we are happy about that - and now we need to recover."

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Nibali will now look to take time back on Kruijswijk in Sunday's 10.8km uphill time trial from Castelrotto to Alpe di Siusi. Find out more about stage 15 in our race guide.

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