Quick-Step director Davide Bramati says the four escapees were stronger than the bunch and the only way to catch them was if he’d used his car to lead the chase behind them.
The Ecuadorian goes into the final three stages with a three-second lead over Jai Hindley.
The Portuguese rider had sat fourth overall in the white jersey.
Australian was dropped in the finale but hangs onto second overall as mechanical took place inside the final 3km.
A four-rider breakaway upsets the sprinters.
Dutch rider went on the attack in the mountains, and now looks ahead to the final TT of the race.
No word yet if Simon Yates will refocus on Tour de France as team tries to squeeze something out of closing days of Giro d'Italia.
Giro di Hoody: These are hard times for sprinters facing reduced opportunities across ever more challenging grand tours.
The 23-year-old Portuguese rider was poised in fourth overall in GC ahead of stage 18.
Saturday's mountain finish at Fedaia is a real grinder and it's during the Giro's 'epic' third week that reveals a rider's true character.
After surviving a crash on stage 17, Buitrago timed his chase to perfection on the final climb to take victory.
Five stages on from their last thrilling battle into Cuneo, sprinters Arnaud Démare and Mark Cavendish get a final chance for glory as the Giro heads for Treviso
A late chance for the sprinters.
Three consecutive days in the breakaway, no stage victory (yet).
A veteran cycling reporter finally makes his way to the Giro d’Italia after 30 years.
The Giro's social media managers nearly had to commit crimes against Italy.
It was a good day for Bahrain-Victorious, which saw GC leader Mikel Landa climb into the top 3 as their young star claimed the stage.
Want to see Mathieu van der Poel on the attack in the high Alps? This is the place to do it.
The Brit stepped off during stage 17.
The UAE Team Emirates rider loses more than a minute to the top GC riders on stage 17 and slips off the virtual podium.
Australian says that it’s easy to commit fully to Richard Carapaz because "he’s a great leader".
The Australian is running out of time to claw back time on Richard Carapaz but he believes the penultimate stage will prove decisive.
Strapping Dutchman surpasses all expectations with breakaway antics in the high Alps of stage 17.
Ineos Grenadiers captain keeps hold of three-second lead in the overall classification in taught battle with rival Jai Hindley.
Richard Carapaz, Jai Hindley confirm status as two 'capi' of the Giro, Mikel Landa claws into podium range as João Almeida loses 1:10 on final climb.
Vincenzo Nibali and João Almeida lose time in the overall standings as podium starts to take shape.
British climber and double stage winner abandons Giro after struggling with 'edema of the bony spongiosa of the patella' since stage 4.
UAE Team Emirates veteran will retire when the Giro finishes in Verona but is hoping to set up sprinter Fernando Gaviria for an elusive stage win before he bows out.
'I am happy that I will not have any after-effects.' Eritrean star on the mend after prosecco cork struck left eye last week, but no Tour de France start.
Intermarché-Wanty's motley crew of pick 'n' mix riders blend success and heartbreak as Hirt buries his Mortirolo miss and Pozzovivo loses time.
UAE Team Emirates GC challenger loses 14 seconds to the pink jersey but holds onto third place.
Where will this end?
Probably a day for the breakaway, but it will certainly have GC implications too.
Jan Hirt had the legs and the fight to take his team's second Giro win.
The Giro is as much a celebration of Italian culture as it is a bike race.
A tongue-in-cheek suggestion from Wout Poels, but how else can rivals topple the Ineos Grenadiers?
The Giro enters its final week with an extremely close GC race.
Stage 17 features the Vetriolo pass where Andy Hampsten wrapped up the 1988 Giro d’Italia title, followed by the testing ascent to Monterovere.
Jan Hirt holds off Thymen Arensman to take the win from the break on stage 16.
Recall a day of high drama in the high mountains as the Giro d'Italia kicks into its decisive final week.
After spending two consecutive mountain stages in the break, Jumbo-Visma’s Koen Bouwman has the climbers’ title in his sights despite a back issue he blamed on riding his aero bike
The American said the 'Giro is really starting' this week as GC fight ramps up.
The three strongest climbers in the race are evenly matched but Hindley is closing in on pink.
Pello Bilbao said it was 'a shame' that Bahrain Victorious didn’t gain more from their aggressive performance to Aprica, while Mikel Landa pledged to keep taking the fight to his rivals.
The Giro d'Italia race leader says the race will be won on small 'details.'
With time running out, the Spanish star came up short in his 'last bullet' bid to win a stage in his final Giro d'Italia.
Vincenzo Nibali and João Almeida lose time as Richard Caparaz sees his lead reduced in sprint for bonus seconds.
The CT podcast team looks back at the past few days of the Giro d'Italia and considers the stages ahead.
Many expect the maglia rosa to be decided before the final time trial, but it could still prove decisive for João Almeida and his podium ambitions.
Giro di Hoody: Nothing ever goes to script at the Giro d'Italia, and that's why this week should be one of the best of the season.
From one-hit wonders to doomed superdomestiques, the top of the Giro crop all carry question marks heading into the race's final week.
Fact check: does this emotional Italian always throw his sunglasses away, or just sometimes?
Sonny Colbrelli continues his recovery and trains with his Bahrain-Victorious teammates on Giro d'Italia rest day.
See how the Giro has evolved with these charts and data visualisations.
American team down to five riders as its Giro d'Italia takes another blow.
A look at power numbers from Vincenzo Nibali, Joe Dombrowski, and Emanuel Buchmann after an epic medium mountain stage.
Five riders still lie within a minute on GC as the Giro d'Italia reaches its crescendo.
Likely to be another important GC day, with the Mortirolo, thunderstorms, and a descent to the finish in Aprica.
One fan's quest to get his hands on a pair of Eolo-Kometa Burger King bib shorts.
"It means we’re not here to play around, to put it like that."
'We’re in the lead and we know what we have to do. So it’s basically up to us to get the job done,' Porte writes in his exclusive VeloNews Giro blog.
The Portuguese rider believes that Mikel Landa will be the most dangerous rider in the third week and that the Mortirolo descent will 'blow up' the race.
Spanish climber believes that the longer ascents and higher altitudes of the Giro’s third week will play to his advantage in the battle for the pink jersey.
Newly confident Australian aims at the top step in this year's race.
Ineos Grenadiers has won three of the past four pink jerseys, and is now in pole position to win another one.
The Giro d'Italia riders have been baking under high temperatures for the last two weeks, but they'll have to face the rain in the final week.
With five riders within 61 seconds of the pink jersey, nothing is decided, and everything is still in play.
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl boss is playing the waiting game in the transfer market and time is on his side.
What ever happened to Alexander Foliforov after his amazing Giro stage win?
Guillaume Martin’s yo-yoing Giro took an upward turn on Sunday’s stage to Cogne, where he managed to boost himself back into the top 10 and regain confidence going into the final week.
Dear race organisers, more short stages and hilly local laps at Grand Tours, please. Yours, cycling.
Guillaume "yo-yo" Martin is up to his old tricks and back in the top 10 after stage 15 of the 2022 Giro d'Italia.
After more than two years without a victory, Giulio Ciccone bounced back in the best way with a win in the mountains that also extended Trek-Segafredo’s run of success at the Giro.
Stage 15 was one for the breakaway, with Giulio Ciccone the strongest on the first Alpine test of the 2022 Giro d'Italia.
Carapaz has the strongest team but Bora and Bahrain have cards to play, and Almeida remains a threat.
'Maybe I arrived at the Giro d'Italia a little behind the others but not too far,' says veteran rider.
Carthy turns his goals to stage wins after dropping out of GC contention.
Four riders within 1:01 of pink jersey Richard Carapaz sets the scene for a scintillating third week through the high mountains.
It was a day for the break as the GC riders saved their legs for the final week of the Giro d'Italia.
Bora-Hansgrohe rider says the peloton was feeling the pain after a tough day out in Turin on Saturday.