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It came down to the throw to the line after a drag race to the flat finish to stage 17, with Dainese just able to overcome Matthews and hold off a fast-finishing Milan to claim the win.
Matthews opened up the sprint off the back of a superb Jayco-AlUla leadout at the end of the 197-kilometre stage, sweeping past Dainese’s Team DSM who had arrived a touch too early on the front. Michael Hepburn set up Matthews perfectly, seeing the Australian launch the sprint with a small advantage as he powered towards the finish, though Dainese was able to get on terms with the Australian before pushing past him within the shadow of the finish line gantry.
"This is insane," said Dainese. "We rode an insane final with the boys. I was a bit overtaken by the guys on the left, so had to squeeze and try to catch Matthews. The last metres I had to dig so deep.
“I saw Jonny (Milan) coming. I couldn't really throw my bike I was so on the limit, but it was nice to get my wheel a few centimetres in front and get the win."
Dainese’s best finish at this year’s Giro ahead of the stage was 33rd, with the Italian suffering from illness at various stages during the race, but he continued his trend of popping up with big performances at Giro d’Italia, adding his second stage at the Italian Grand Tour after winning stage 11 last year.
“I really appreciated the commitment from the team, they really believed in me,” said Dainese. “They said to me this morning ‘you can win a stage, it’s a good opportunity.’ Even though I wasn’t feeling 100 percent, they still told me it was possible.
“It’s more special than the last year for sure. Last year was a bit out of luck, this year it was the end of a process and work with the team and lead out, so it feels much more special.
“The last week was not easy, for me personally too with some problems, but we still believed in it and each other, and said that today was a good chance to win a stage here.”
The Giro d’Italia continues on SBS VICELAND with stage 18, a mountainous 161km that includes 3700 metres of climbing. Stream from 8.10pm AEST on SBS On Demand, with the SBS VICELAND coverage starting at 9.20 AEST.
