With only three riders in the race, Orica-GreenEDGE face an uphill battle in the remaining part of the Giro d'Italia. Today they again missed the break and with most of the race now being made up of mountain stages, most of the team's riders will have no more chances to shine.

The ORICA-GreenEDGE trio of Ivan Santaromita, Michael Hepburn and Svein Tuft finished in the bunch on stage 17 of the Giro d’Italia, nearly 16 minutes behind stage winner Stefano Pirazzi. The Bardiani-CSF rider emerged from a 25-strong breakaway group that formed in the second hour of stage to take the win in Vittorio Veneto. Santaromita was the first across the line for the Australian outfit in 110th place at 15’36.

“The boys definitely tried to make the break today,” said Sport Director Matt White. “Heppy was in a lot of moves. It took 70 kilometres for that group to go away.”

“It was the last chance for most guys above 65 kilos to win a stage,” White added. “We’re obviously going back into the high mountains again tomorrow, and the next few days are for the climbers – and the last day is usually one for the sprinters. There were a lot of guys desperate to be in that break today, which is why it took so long to form.”

All but four teams had representation in the escape group, and none of the riders in the move presented any threat to the overall classification. The breakaway had right composition to discourage a chase.

“When the move formed, that was all she wrote,” said White. “Obviously, with only three guys, we don’t have a team to bring it back. There wasn’t much we could do.”