Juan Ayuso pounces to win Giro d'Italia stage seven, Primož Roglič takes pink jersey
The first mountain stage of the race — a 168-kilometre ride from Castel di Sangro to Tagliacozzo — came down to Ayuso having the legs to get away from his rivals in the final 400 metres.
Ayuso's UAE Team-Emirates colleague Isaac del Toro was second, with Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) third, denying Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) a place on the podium.
But Roglič did enough to take the leader's pink jersey from Mads Pedersen, with the Dane losing touch on the final climb.
Ayuso's efforts put him second overall, 4 seconds behind Roglič, with Del Toro 5 seconds further back in third.
Australia's Michael Storer (Tudor Pro) finished the stage in 10th position, 8 seconds adrift of Ayuso, to move up three places into sixth spot in the general classification.
"It's my fourth Grand Tour … but I never managed to pull it (victory) off," Ayuso said.
"So to finally do it today in my first Giro d'Italia is something super special that I will always remember."
The stage was seen as the first real test for the general classification.
Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) had been expected to relinquish his hold on the pink jersey, with the race having favoured the sprinters in the earlier stages.
There was no easing into the stage, with the riders climbing from the start, and tackling another two classified climbs before the steep ascent to the finish.
"I knew that I could do only one attack and not mess around with two or three on this final which was very explosive," Ayuso said.
"When I saw my distance, I went full gas. It was important today to not only get the win but also try and recover the time I lost in the time trial."
Reuters
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