Fabio Felline found himself in aperfect position in today's stage 17 of the Giro d'Italia as the talented Italian had made the break in a stage that suited him down to the ground. Having lacked the legs to follow the moves in the finale, the Trek rider left the stage hugely disappointed.

Amid all the discourse of yesterday’s controversial stage when the flag was dropped for today’s 208-kilometer stage 17 the racing began with fervor. The feverish pace finally relented after 70 kilometers when at last a breakaway formed. When the dust had settled 26 riders had seeped ahead, including Trek Factory Racing’s Fabio Felline.  With no threats up the road the peloton eased back on the throttle, allowing the day’s key break free rein to the end.

“It was very difficult to start the breakaway, so it was very fast for a long time," Felline said. "When it finally went it was a good breakaway with 26 riders.

"It was very hard at the end with all the attacks; you had to sprint again and again to follow. I did not have great legs in the final hill to stay with the four riders in the front. After, I tried to bridge to the leaders, but I just did not have it today."

On the final category four rated climb four riders broke clear and bridged up to a solo Thomas De Gendt (0mega Pharma-QuickStep). These five would stay clear to the finish despite numerous attempts from behind, including a solo attempt to bridge the gap by Fabio Felline with seven kilometers remaining.

In the end the discombobulated effort of the chase was no match to the collaboration of the five and they arrived to the final kilometer with almost 30 seconds lead. Stefano Pirazzi (Bardiani-CSF) made the winning move just before the flamme rouge, holding off the four to give his team its third victory of this year’s Giro. Fabio Felline finished third from the remaining breakaway that sprinted in 28 seconds later to take 8th place for the stage.

“Pirazzi is a good rider," Felline said. "I would not think that today would have been a stage for him, but as you can see in the end he won. For me It was a great opportunity lost, and I am very disappointed. That’s cycling.”

“After the last few days today was a day that it was possible for a breakaway," sports director Josu Larazabal said. " We asked the guys to be ready, especially Fabio. So it was perfect when he went in the break.

"We knew the last climb would be crucial so we told Fabio to be ready to go with the jumps. But he was just not strong enough today. But we are happy because he did a great job to be there - he has been getting better everyday. Once again we were in the mix for the win. We will keep fighting.”

It was a no-stress day for the rest of the peloton that contained all the GC leaders, a necessary and welcomed day with the next three stages back in the high mountains. Robert Kiserlovski continues in 10th overall with no changes to the top of the general classifcation.