Italian rider Dainese wins stage 17 as Thomas keeps Giro lead
CAORLE Italy: Italian rider Alberto Dainese edged the sprint on Wednesday’s stage 17 of the Giro d’Italia as Geraint Thomas finished in the pack to keep the leader’s pink jersey. Mark Cavendish, who announced on Tuesday that he would be retiring at the end of the season, made an error a kilometer out from the finish of the flat 197km ride from Pergine Valsugana. The 38-year-old lost his lead-in man and finished well back, most probably ending his record of winning a stage at every Giro he has ridden unless he can survive the mountains over the next three days and take Sunday’s finale in Rome. Dainese’s DSM team led the peloton around the last bend with 400m to go but it was Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) who then came to the front.
