Vilko Kelderman (Sunweb) was 14 seconds ahead of Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo) and 4 seconds ahead of Maglia Rosa as they accelerated 400 meters from the summit of Alemogna above Roccaraso.

The Giro faced a climb of about 4,500 meters in the Apennines on stage 9. Only Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) and Sunweb teammate Jai Hindley were able to stay with Kelderman.

At the finish, Kelderman was eighth, 1:38 behind winner Ruben Guerreiro (EF Pro Cycling), but 14 seconds behind Nibali, 18 seconds behind race leader Joao Almeida (Detunink-Quickstep), and countryman who struggled on the final climb. Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo Visma) by 21 seconds.

"It was a long day and super cold, especially towards the end. The team gave me a lot of confidence. The team also gave me a lot of confidence. On the second last climb, there were still eight guys left, so I was able to hold a really good position. And I actually felt really good in the last sprint. I started sprinting with about 400 meters to go. I gave it my all all the way to the finish and was able to make some gaps."

In the overall standings, Kelderman moved into second place, 30 seconds behind Almeida. The Dutch rider claimed that he had not thought about putting his sleeves on the pink jersey in the final kilometer, but he will surely begin to warm up to the idea in the second week.

Kelderman is now 27 seconds ahead of Nibali and 56 seconds ahead of Kruijswijk. The 29-year-old came to Italy with the goal of a podium finish, but with the unusual Giro just a week away, he will feel entitled to revise his ambitions upward.

"I didn't think about the pink jersey at all today because the distance to the finish was too short to make a bigger difference," Kelderman said. Maybe in the next week we will consider it. But I'm very happy with how I'm feeling right now and that's the most important thing. But I'm very happy with the way I'm feeling right now, and that's the most important thing. We'll see what's possible in the next week."

Kelderman's talent as a stage racer has been evident since he turned pro with Rabobank in 2012 and first gained attention at the Criterium du Dauphiné, but the sum total of his Grand Tour successes never amounted to the sum of his potential. 2017's Although he finished fourth in the Vuelta a España, he has suffered repeated bad luck in the three weeks of racing.

Meanwhile, this season, Kelderman was removed from Sunweb's team for the Tour de France, and the 29-year-old has already signed a contract with Bora-Hansgrohe for 2021. This Giro brings the curtain down on his four-year Sunweb tenure, and Michael Matthews (Mitchelton-Scott) and Sam Omen (Jumbo-Visma), who also left Sunweb, are in Italy.

Both athletes were in the group of winners at the foot of the final climb, along with Kelderman. The young Australian is in ninth place overall, 1:15 behind Almeida.

"The team did a great job and Jai was super good," Kelderman said.