ROME, May 20, 2018 (News Wires) - Chris Froome found his form in spectacular style on Monte Zoncolan to win his first ever stage of the Giro d'Italia while fellow British rider Simon Yates extended his overall lead. Froome broke away with four kilometres to go on one of the key climbs of this year's race and held off Yates, who crossed the line six seconds behind to take the runners-up spot on stage 14. That gives the man from Bury a lead of one minute and 24 seconds over defending champion Tom Dumoulin, but the Dutchman will consider that something of a moral victory given his superior time-trialling ability. Froome is still 3mins 10secs behind in fifth place but has shown he is back and potentially still in with a chance of winning the race with more climbs to come and Tuesday's time trial. The four-time Tour de France champion said on Eurosport: "It's a really, really special feeling winning on top of this mountain, such a monumental climb for the race, and such a good feeling especially after a really hard start to the race for me and the team. "The team have supported me so well, to get the stage really means a lot. Even right to the line, Simon was right behind me. I didn't know if he was going to catch me. It was such a relief to get into that final 100 metres knowing I was going to win the stage." Froome knows the odds are firmly stacked against him becoming only the seventh man to complete the hat-trick of grand tours but he is not giving up hope. The 32-year-old said: "I haven't quite been feeling myself but hopefully I can come back from it and keep racing as hard as I can to the finish.
