Gap, France: European champion Matteo Trentin won the 17th stage of the Tour de France, a hilly 200km ride from the Pont du Gard, on Wednesday.
The Italian jumped away from a reduced group of breakaway riders at the foot of the last climb and further powered away in the descent to claim his third stage win on the Tour.
It was his Mitchelton-Scott team’s fourth stage win this year after Simon Yates’s brace and Daryl Impey’s victory. The overall contenders lagged some 18 minutes behind but there won’t be any significant change in the overall standings as Trentin and his breakaway companions were not a threat in the general classification.
Thursday’s 18th stage is a 208km mountain trek between Embrun and Valloire featuring three climbs above 2,000 metres.
