Wout van Aert pips Giro d’Italia leader Isaac Del Toro to victory on stage nine

Wout van Aert snatched victory in stage nine of the Giro d'Italia after pipping pink jersey leader Isaac Del Toro to the finish line in Siena.

An enthralling finale saw Del Toro surge forward inside the final 20-kilometre stretch, but he was closely trailed by Van Aert as the pair battled towards the finish.

A tight encounter between the duo culminated in a sprint up the hill in the final 600 metres, where Van Aert overtook the UAE Team Emirates rider to fly over the line and clinch the stage victory.

Although he was narrowly beaten by Van Aert, a second-placed finish on Sunday means Del Toro claims the pink jersey going into stage 10, which takes place on Tuesday with a mostly flat course running between Lucca and Pisa.

Earlier in the race, Tom Pidcock was involved in a crash with Primoz Roglic - who was third in the general classification going into Sunday's stage - and both cyclists sustained punctures to drift behind the leading group by just over one minute with 40km left to go.

Britain's Simon Yates crossed the line in fifth to move into sixth in the general classification, while a 10th-placed finish for Adam Yates means he is now ninth in the standings and Pidcock sits 16th overall.

PA