Belgian Alec Segaert stole a march to win stage 12 of the Giro d'Italia on Thursday, and his Bahrain Victorious team-mate Afonso Eulalio snatched bonus seconds in the intermediate sprint to extend his overall lead.
The 175-km ride from Imperia to Novi Ligure looked to be headed for a sprint finish before Segaert made his telling move 3 km from the line and held off the chasing pack to take the win on his Giro debut.
Fellow-Belgian Toon Aerts (Lotto-Intermarche) won the dash for second ahead of one-time race leader Guillermo Thomas Silva (XDS Astana Team).
Portugal's Eulalio put an extra six seconds between himself and favourite Jonas Vingegaard, with the Dane now 33 seconds off the pink jersey.
Darren Rafferty (EF Education - EasyPost) and Ryan Mullen (NSN Cycling Team) finished the stage 106th and 108th respectively.
Twenty-two-year-old Rafferty drops a place in the GC to 93rd but remains 28th in the youth rankings. Mullen is 142nd in general classification.
Additional reporting: Reuters
