Stage three winner Michael Matthews has put in a strong ride on another punishing day for stage nine of the Giro d’Italia this afternoon.

Matthews finished in 16th place within a small surviving peloton, one-minute 43seconds behind solo winner Paolo Tiralongo (Astana Pro Team), with the remnants of the day’s breakaway and major general classification contenders in between.

Sport director Matt White said the ride showed good signs of the 24-year-old’s condition.

“The way they raced this stage was like every other day this week,” White said of yet another aggressive day on the road.

“At the end of nine days of racing and more than 4000m of climbing, for Michael to be there in the mix with some of the best climbers in the world is a really strong sign.”

The conclusion of the ninth stage brings a timely first rest day of the Giro d’Italia, White pleased with the team’s achievements so far.

“We came here with some targets early on in the Tour and we certainly ticked those boxes, but we still have more targets to go,” White said.

“It’s only the end of the first phase of the race but before the we start the next, we have a very well deserved rest day for all.”