For the second day in a row, Ryder Hesjedal (Cannondale-Garmin) finished second behind Fabio Aru (Astana) in a big mountain stage of the Giro d'Italia.

Again he was attacked by the Italian on the final climb and this time he decided not to go into the red zone to try to follow his rival, hoping to pace himself back to the Astana rider. He never managed to do so and had to settle for second.

“He’s strong man, and has that kick at the end that I can’t follow and he creates a bit of distance,” Hesjedal told reporters at the finish. “I had Uran on with me a little but but we couldn’t do anything about it.

“You always want to win but your sensations are still pretty good when you come across the line like that and you known you’ve given it everything. I’m happy with my Giro. I had fun. It’s a brutal race. To have won it a few years ago, taken a top 10 last year despite setbacks and then a top five this year… I’ve had a good time.

“I wasn’t looking to win the race by attacking on the Finestre but I knew that’s where I needed to make the race for myself. I was still looking of moving the classification and so it was a kind of double project: try to win the stage but also do what I needed do. I needed to push the race. In the end it was tough to win but second is okay on a day like today.”