Fabio Aru (Astana) has taken his second consecutive stage of the Giro d’Italia. Aru took the mountainous, 199-km ride from Saint-Vincent to Sestriere in 5:12:25. Ryder Hesjedal (Cannondale-Garmin) finished second at 0:18, and Rigoberto Uran (Etixx-Quick Step) took third at 0:24. Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo Bank) had a crisis on the day’s two climbs, but he kept his maglia rosa and is poised to win the race when it ends tomorrow in Turin.

Aleksejs Saramotins (IAM Cycling), Julien Berard (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Nicola Boem (Bardiani-CSF), Marco Bandiera (Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela), Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida), Jon Izagirre (Movistar), Giacomo Berlato (Nippo-Vini Fantini), Matteo Busato (Southeast), and Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha) formed the early break. The Astana-led peloton never let the escapees get much more than two minutes. On the lower slopes of the Colle delle Fenestre, the highest ascent in this year’s Giro, Berlato attacked his companions.

A series of attacks followed Berlato’s move, and the result was Zakarin leading Stefano Pirazzi (Bardiani-CSF), with the peloton in pursuit. Tanel Kangert (Astana) attacked. With 35 km to go, Zakarin led the maglia rosa group by 1:30.

Behind, Mikel Landa (Astana) attacked. Aru followed suit, and Contador was dropped. The Spaniard reached the summit about a minute after Landa, who had joined Zakarin. He stabilized the situation on the descent and the lower slopes of the climb to the finish.

Landa and Zakarin led the field up the early slopes of the day’s final climb, but the Aru group merged with them. Landa paced this group until Aru attacked. The Sardinian’s first move took a few riders with him, but his second got him clear, brought him the stage win, and nailed down second place overall. Aru finished 2:25 ahead of Contador and picked up 10 bonus seconds.

Aru’s victory was special to him because he knows Sestriere. “There were so many fans encouraging me along the roadside that it was like being at home,” the Sardinian said. “We worked at the front all stage. Landa was very strong, and he has done exceptional work for the team these days. I suffered a lot on the Colle delle Fenestre but then rejoined Mikel on the descent. This is my second stage win in two days, and it still hasn’t sunk in, especially after so many days of suffering. I come to Sestriere to train, and I’m very attached to the town, so this win is special for that reason, too.”

During his crisis, Contador kept his composure and his confidence, never doubting that he would keep the maglia rosa. “Today was not a great stage for me,” he said. “I wasn’t feeling good, probably because of the accumulated effort, but I knew I had a good cushion in the general classification, and even though there were plenty of km to go before the finish, I preferred to ride at my rhythm. There was never a moment when I thought the jersey was in danger. I maintained my calm because I knew the difference between the groups would be small. We’ll have a good dinner tonight, although I have to watch my weight for the Tour [de France]. This Giro d’Italia is in the bag now, with just tomorrow’s stage to come, so I’m already thinking of my next target.”

In the overall, Contador leads Aru by 2:02 and Landa by 3:14. Stage 21, the final stage of this year’s Giro, will be a procession for Contador. The pancake-flat, 178-km run from Turin to Milan will end with a sprint. Who will take it? Sacha Modolo (Lampre-Merida)? Elia Viviani (Sky)? Luka Mezgec (Giant-Alpecin)? Check in at www.roadcycling.com and find out!