Chris Froome set to win first Giro d'Italia title after holding off Tom Dumoulin on final climb
Last Updated: 26/05/18 5:11pm
Chris Froome is set to win his first Giro d'Italia title after fighting off repeated attacks from Tom Dumoulin on the final mountain stage.
The Dutchman tried to attack race leader Froome on a number of occasions on the climb to the summit finish at Cervinia where, six minutes earlier, Mikel Nieve had won the stage for Mitchelton-Scott on his 34th birthday.
But Froome, who claimed the lead with his incredible attack 80km from the end of Friday's stage, was equal to all of the defending champion's hard work and made it to the finish line to extend his lead by a handful of seconds.
With Sunday's final stage traditionally a procession, Froome is on the verge of becoming only the seventh rider to win all three Grand Tours, having won last year's Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana.
The Team Sky rider will also become just the third man to hold all three Grand Tours, following in the footsteps of Bernard Hinault and Eddy Merckx.
Froome's former team-mate Nieve had been part of a 27-strong break that developed early in the stage, although most of those had long since disappeared when the Spaniard made the vital attack early on the third tough climb of the day.
One victim of the stage was third-placed Thibaut Pinot, who appeared to be suffering with illness, and much like Simon Yates on Friday saw his hopes of a podium finish crushed as Miguel Angel Lopez moved up to third and secured the white jersey for best young rider.
When the leaders got to the final climb Dumoulin launched a series of stinging attacks, aided by Team Sunweb colleague Sam Oomen, but Froome was always able to respond and, by the summit, it was Dumoulin who looked more vulnerable.
And, with Froome managing to drop a deflated Dumoulin in the run to the line, the Briton was actually able to add six seconds to his lead, which stands at 46 seconds heading to Rome on Sunday.
He said: "They were obviously attacks that I had to follow in the final there but I felt very much in control and very capable of following today.
"I think everyone had such a hard day yesterday that no one really had the extra legs to go anywhere.
"This Giro has been brutal - absolutely brutal. When someone tends to have a bad day here it's not just a matter of 30 seconds or one minute - it's 10-15 minutes. It's a brutal race. In a way for us it was just to follow and keep an eye on Tom."
