Steven Kruijswijk will keep hold of the pink jersey at the start of the Giro d'Italia's final week, although he was denied a stage 15 victory by a fraction of a second.
The Dutchman began the 10.8km time trial in the maglia rosa having claimed second place on stage 14 and another runners-up finish on Sunday's stage ensured he extended his lead to two minutes 12 seconds over Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge).
Astana rider Vincenzo Nibali, the 2013 winner, was directly behind Krujiswijk at the start of the day, but mechanical failure with his bike saw him slip almost three minutes behind in the general classification standings following a stage where he was expected to thrive.
It means Kruijswijk, who was pipped to the stage win by rank outsider Alexander Foliforov (Gazprom-Rusvelo), will have a dominant lead when racing resumes after Monday's rest day.
"This morning I was hoping to still have the (pink) jersey after the time trial," the Team LottoNL-Jumbo rider told Eurosport.
"I think the guys suffered a lot more than I did (on Saturday). I just gave it my all and took it really easy this morning. It's too bad I didn't win but I showed my condition is really good and I gained some time on my rivals.
"It's still a long week to go but we will see, we have to take it day by day. I think I've showed I'm one of the better riders in this race, I'm feeling confident. I'm confident my team is strong enough to help me win this."
Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) came third behind Foliforov and Kruijswijk and will still feel he is well placed to make a late bid for the pink jersey next week.
Team Sky's Nicolas Roche finished in 36th, 2: 26 down on Foliforov, and lies 28th in the general classification.
His team-mate and fellow Irishman Philip Deignan was 66th, 3:45 back on the stage winner, and he sits in 107th overall.
