Thymen Arensman retained his strong general classification foothold at the Giro d’Italia as the breakaway contested stage 11.
Netcompany INEOS rode together on a hilly day in Italy, setting the tempo at points, to ensure that Arensman remained in third place overall, 1:57 back on the maglia rosa.
Egan Bernal sits 15th overall after getting through some selfless work during the stage, pacing a reduced peloton in the closing stages.
After a rapid start, the day’s breakaway gradually split apart across the undulating 195km parcours. In the end the stage came down to a two-up sprint, with Jhonatan Narvaez (UAE Emirates – XRG) fending off Enric Mas (Movistar).
Wednesday also saw the 4 Jours de Dunkerque kick off with a technical and punchy uphill finish into Laon. Kim Heiduk led the team home in 13th place as a reduced bunch sprinted it out.
Artem Shmidt and Victor Langellotti also finished within the group following a technical and crash-strewn run-in. Laurance Pithie (Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe) claimed the victory to move into an early race lead.