Tadej Pogacar won stage eight of the Giro d’Italia with a superb performance on the 152km ride from Spoleto to Prati di Tivo, extending his lead with his 10th victory of the season to retain the maglia rosa.
The Slovenian UAE Team Emirates rider dominated once again on a tough route which had a total altitude gain of 3,850 metres, coming out on top on the 15km climb to Prati di Tivo.
Valentin Paret-Peintre had raced ahead of the peloton in a brave effort to break away until he was caught four kilometres from the finish, before UAE Team Emirates looked to dictate the pace on the final stages of the climb.
Rafal Majka looked to set up Pogacar for the win but Antonio Tiberi and Thymen Arensman had other ideas as both tried to attack. Pogacar stayed on their heels, however, before he surged ahead on the final sprint to the finish to take the stage after more than four hours of racing.
Daniel Martínez came second for Bora-Hansgrohe (now two minutes and 40 seconds behind overall) and Australian Ben O’Connor was third for Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale. Geraint Thomas remains in third on GC.
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