Giro d'Italia favourite Primož Roglič out and Isaac del Toro's lead slashed in chaotic 16th stage
Amid the chaos, Australia's Michael Storer moved up five places to be one of around eight riders still in contention to be in pink on the podium in Rome on Sunday.
Pre-race favourite Primož Roglič, the 2023 champion, abandoned after suffering his fourth crash in barely a week in a stage initially made treacherous by torrential rain.
Isaac del Toro, the 21-year-old Mexican riding his second grand tour, held on to the maglia rosa, but only just, as he was broken by Simon Yates on the final climb of four, totalling 4,900m of elevation.
The demanding ride through the Dolomites began in rain but ended in sun, and it shone on the host nation.
Christian Scaroni led home an all-Italian trio for the first home stage win of this year's race, hand-in-hand with the mountains leader and XDS Astana teammate Lorenzo Fortunato. Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe) was third.
However, another Italian, Alessio Martinelli, was hospitalised after sliding into a ravine.
The VG Group Bardiani-CSF Faizane team said Martinelli was "conscious and in stable condition". He was carried up from the ravine on a stretcher by an Alpine rescue team.
As the gradients rose on the 203km leg from Piazzola Sul Brenta to San Valentino, so did the drama.
Roglič (Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe) was 10th at the start of the day, but a fall that also involved Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) forced him to finally quit with a series of injuries.
Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), the 2021 champion, fell in a separate incident but continued.
The absence of reigning champion Tadej Pogačar and Dane Jonas Vingegaard had meant Roglič was favourite when the Giro began.
As crashes derailed the Slovenian's chances, Del Toro had begun to look as if he could hold on to his lead after a week in pink.
But the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider's lead was reduced from 1 minute, 20 seconds to 26 seconds ahead of Briton Yates (Visma–Lease a Bike) and, 11 seconds further back, Carapaz.
The Ecuadorian, who won in 2019, had been 2:07 back at the start of the stage but produced a powerful ride to finish fourth in the stage.
"In end, I didn't have the best legs. They weren't bad but they weren't sufficient. I was happy to make it to the finish," Del Toro said.
Del Toro's teammate Juan Ayuso, who was third at the start, 1.26 behind, cracked and came in 35th, 14:47 adrift and out of GC contention.
Storer (Tudor) acquitted himself well, finishing seventh, 1.52 behind the leaders, and is up from 12th to seventh overall, 3.31 behind Del Toro.
Wednesday's Stage 17 is a 155 km leg from San Michele All'Adige to Bormio featuring three climbs — including the Mortirolo, one of the Giro's toughest and most fabled.
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