Carlo Alberto Betancur (AG2R) had to settle for another second place on yesterday’s Giro d’Italia stage 10 to Altopiano del Montasio and he took his runner-up spot with great patriotic spirit.

"That's fine,” the diminutive Colombian climber told Rai Sport after the summit finish. “Uran was ahead of me and I could not bridge the gap to him because we're both Colombians. We may not wear the same team jersey, but it is not our custom to stand in each other’s way. At the Giro there are so many strong riders, today I tried to gain a little bit of time.”

Asked how he evaluates the big names for the general classification at this point of the race, Betancur suggested that the Sky team might be riding for the wrong man.

“Wiggins had a tough time today and Uran has been shown to go faster. If Sky had been riding differently today, Rigoberto could have had the pink leader’s jersey."