Nothing better indicates Team Sunweb's intentions for stage 15 of the Giro d'Italia than Chad Haga's position in the time trial to Valdobbiadene the day before. The American won the final time trial of last year's Giro, but was 73rd on Saturday. The Reason" On the road to Piancavallo the next day, Wilco Kelderman had his work cut out for him.

He was not alone. In a Giro where no team seemed to be dominant, Sunweb had a suitably impressive run on Sunday, with the men in black and white imposing their will in the final hour of the race. After Haga's changeover ended in the valley ahead of Piancavallo, Chris Hamilton and Jai Hindley took over on the final climb.

"We kept it a little low key all week to prepare for the big day today," Luke Roberts said after the stage where Kelderman came within 15 seconds of the youngster Joao Almeida of the Maria Rosa-winning Dečuninck-Quick Step. He was also more than three minutes ahead of Trek-Segafredo's Vincenzo Nibali and Bora-Hansgrohe's Rafau Mayka.

On the final four climbs of the day, Hamilton's pacemaking had already eliminated the high-profile riders from the pink jersey group before Hindley took over. With just under 6km to go, the only two riders left on Hamilton's wheel were Kelderman and Tao Geoghegan Hart of Ineos Grenadiers.

Remaining on the summit, Geoghegan Hart won the sprint for the stage win, while Kelderman and Hindley took second and third place on the stage The two were in the same overall standings, with Hindley 2:56 behind Almeida.

"Going into the last climb, everyone did their job and it was super fast pace," Kelderman said. Jai Hindley really did a flawless job." It's a shame we didn't win a stage and reach the pink, but we had a really great run."

Kelderman made his Grand Tour debut in the 2013 Giro, finishing 17th overall. After a disappointing Tour de France, Kelderman returned to the Giro in 2017 with the support of Tom Dumoulin, but crashed at the end of the first week. He then finished fourth overall at the Vuelta a España, his highest Grand Tour finish to date.

With six stages to the finish, Kelderman is now in a position to repeat the feat of Dumoulin three years ago. Like Etna and Roccarasso, the 29-year-old Kelderman was the strongest overall contender on Sunday. For me, he's the favorite," Kelderman said. 'We'll keep trying and hopefully put him in the jersey and defend it.'

In the first two weeks of the Giro, Kelderman went toe-to-toe with veterans like Nibali and Jakob Fuglsang. On the final day of the race, his biggest rivals may prove to be the younger generation, namely the spirited Almeida, who defended the pink jersey, and Geoghegan Hart, who was sure-footed on the climb to Piacavallo.

"It's the Giro, you never know," Hindley said.

"I want to commend Joanne for the way she's been running the last few weeks. There's a reason he's wearing the pink jersey."

Hindley is also in position for a podium finish in Milan. On Sunday, his strength was such that he led Kelderman to the finish line. He said, "It's pretty cool. I'm pretty excited. It's great to be running with the big boys in the final. 0]

But like Roccaraso a week ago, Kelderman warned that the Giro would take on a different hue in the final week.

"Next week will be difficult with all the long stages over 200 km and stages with summit finishes," Kelderman said. There will be a lot more to come."

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