Sacha Modolo wins stage battle, but Alberto Contador is still winning the Giro war

Italian Lampre rider Sacha Modolo won his second stage of the Giro d’Italia on Wednesday as he came out on top in a sprint finish following the 17th stage from Tirano to Lugano in Switzerland.

Spaniard Alberto Contador comfortably retained the leader’s pink jersey after a relatively flat day of racing across 134km.

The 27-year-old Modolo, who also won stage 13, finished ahead of compatriot Giacomo Nizzolo, who also finished second last Friday, while Slovenian Luka Mezgec took third spot.

“It was like a family arrival,” Contador said after being greeted by his wife Macarena at the finish and the fact he has a residence nearby in Lugano.

“In theory it was a transitional stage but it was hard. The road went up and down, and we were riding into a headwind for most of the day. The peloton was very nervous, and it was fast, with the three-man breakaway up the road.

“So far, something has happened almost every day: a crash, a puncture. I’m very happy because I got through the stage safely and arrived in Lugano, where I live, on my home roads.

“Yesterday was much more wearing than I would have liked, but I’m one day closer to Milan,” added Contador, who won the Giro in 2008 and is bidding to become the first rider since the late Marco Pantani, in 1998, to win the Tour of Italy and Tour de France in the same year.

The Giro enjoyed a welcome day of sunshine and was brought to life by a three-man escape that saw Belgian Iljo Keisse and Italian duo Marco Bandiera and Giacomo Berlato take off at the 2km mark.