Cycling: Chris Froome speeds to stage victory at Giro d’Italia

Chris Froome won the 14th stage of the Giro d’Italia on Monte Zoncolan as his compatriot Simon Yates extended his overall lead in the Alps.

With the peloton swiftly breaking up as riders tackled the grueling final climb on the 186km stage from San Vito al Tagliamento, Team Sky’s Froome surged clear to win by six seconds.

Yates was second, 31 seconds ahead of the defending champion and nearest challenger, Tom Dumoulin, in the battle for the maglia rosa. With six bonus seconds for finishing second, Yates extended his overall advantage to 1min 24sec.

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Froome, who moved from 12th to fifth in the general classification with his first Giro stage win, told Eurosport: “It’s a really, really special feeling winning on top of this mountain, such a monumental climb for the race. The team have supported me so well, to get the stage really means a lot.”

Froome remains 3:10 behind Yates and the four-times Tour de France winner said: “Even right to the line, Simon was right behind me. I didn’t know if he was going to catch me. It was such a relief to get into that final 100 metres knowing I was going to win the stage.”