rivals, taking the stage win. Froome's deficit to the maglia rosa was now 3' 10". However, on the final climb of the following stage to Sappada Froome cracked, yielding more than a minute to the other main general classification contenders. Overall, Froome lay 4'52" from Yates, the leader, 2'41" from Dumoulin, 2'24" from Domenico Pozzovivo and 2'15" from Thibaut Pinot. Froome's fortune began to change as the race entered the third week, with a strong performance in the 34 km, Stage 16 time trial – from Trento to Rovereto – finishing fifth on the stage, rising to fourth overall and moving to within four minutes of Yates. On stage 18 to Prato Nevoso Yates displayed the initial signs of weakness, cracking on the final slopes of the summit finishes and losing 28 seconds to all of his other general classification rivals. Stage 19 of the race had been classified as the 'queen stage' of the race, with three focused climbs in the latter half of the stage. These included the half paved-half gravel climb of the Colle delle Finestre, followed by the climb to Sestriere and the final uphill finish to Bardonecchia. Team Sky's management decided that Finestre would be the ideal place to put pressure on Yates: if a team rode hard on the front, its 27 hairpin turns would create a concertina effect in the peloton, making it difficult for riders behind to follow, and forcing teams to shed their domestiques. Froome then planned to attack Dumoulin on the 8 km gravel section at the top of the climb. To ensure that Froome would be able to obtain the nutrition necessary to sustain such a long-range attack, the team commandeered all its staff at the race to ensure there were feeding stations every ten minutes up the Finestre. On the stage itself, the early breakaway, which included Froome's teammates Sergio Henao and David de la Cruz, was closed down by Yates's team just before the Finestre. Sky's climbing train set an extremely high tempo at the beginning of the climb: with Yates in difficulty on its lower slopes. With 80 km left of the stage, Froome launched a solo attack. Froome's advantage grew throughout the second half of the stage, culminating in him taking the stage honours. Importantly, a stage victory of more than three minutes which included picking up three bonus seconds at the second intermediate sprint