Carlos Betancur finished tenth in a Dantesque stage marked by the ascent of the Mortirolo. He moves into 19th overall.

In the team bus, Carlos Betancur tried to recover after the brutal effort. Suffering on the terrible slopes of Passo del Mortirolo, the Colombian had left everything on the road and finished in a nice tenth place: 

"It was really, really hard. I got to the Mortirolo and I went up at my own pace. The end suited me better and then I could limit my losses," he said. 

Sports director Laurent Biondi was also pleased with the day.

"We had a wonderful high mountain stage. The team did a great ride around Carlos. Before the bottom of the Mortirolo, we still had three riders in the Aru group. Carlos did a beautiful climb. The passages of 14 or 15% were perhaps too much for Carlos, but later he did a beautiful descent to finish in the top ten."

Twenty-fifth in the standings this morning, Betancur moves into 19th position. With several mountain stages to come, the top 15 is within reach.