A grueling day in the Dolomites on the way to Laghi di Cancano saw the overall standings for the Giro d'Italia reversed on stage 18, the Passo dello Stelvio.

After holding the Maria Rosa for 15 days, Dečuninck-Quick-Step neo-pro Joan Almeida finally ceded control of the race to Team Sunweb's Wilco Kelderman, leaving the ranking leaders to head into the final three stages under completely new circumstances.

The Portuguese 22-year-old lost contact with the lead group, led by Sunweb, 48km from the end of the stage and 9km from the top of the Stelvio.

He was accompanied by teammate Fausto Masnada, but he was no match for the forces of Sunweb and Ineos, crossing the finish line atop Torri di Frale 4:51 behind stage winner Jai Hindley (Sunweb).

Hindley joined the overall contenders along with Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers), whom he led to the finish line. Pulled by Ineos' Rohan Dennis to the top of Stelvio, the pair rode their best after a freezing descent down and out of the valley.

The pair finished the stage in first and second place and now sit in second and third place on GC. Kelderman held on to this small lead and moved into first place overall, 2:33 ahead of Almeida, with a sprint stage, three consecutive Sestriere stages, and the Milan time trial remaining.

The resurgent Pero Bilbao (Bahrain McLaren) was third, 46 seconds behind the two leaders. The Spaniard and Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) worked well together as the third road group until the final climb overheated Kelderman.

Kelderman crossed the finish line in fourth place, 1:25 back, and moved up six places in the overall standings to sixth, 3:59 back. Meanwhile, Bilbao is on the verge of a podium finish and, depending on the result of stage 20, could be in line for the overall win.

Further back, Patrick Conradt (Bora-Hansgrohe) left team leader Rafau Mayka behind on the final climb to finish sixth, 4:04 behind. The Austrian moved up two places to seventh overall, 5:40 behind, while Majka, nearly seven minutes behind, dropped five places to tenth overall. [Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo) and Domenico Pozzovivo (NTT Pro Cycling) had contact in Stelvio, ultimately losing 4:51 and 8:17. The two are now eighth and 12th overall, with Pozzovivo the last one within 20 minutes of the overall lead. Pozzovivo is the last one within 20 minutes of the overall lead.

Finally, Fausto Masnada and Hermann Pernsteiner (Bahrain McLaren) are in the top 10 for stage 18, in 9th and 11th place.