And then there were three? For two weeks, the defining feature of this Giro d'Italia was its very lack of definition, with the podium contenders separated by a matter of seconds and largely cancelling one another out on the early summit finishes and even in last weekend's Chianti time trial.
Six mountain passes and fourteen days of accumulated fatigue, however, were always likely to add up to some significant shifts in the general classification, and so it proved on the Dolomite tappone to Corvara, on stage 14, which has left only two riders – Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge) within three minutes of new maglia rosa Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo).
That trio proved the strongest on the day's final climb, the Passo Valparola, but the hierarchy within that group was a surprising one. While it was Nibali's stinging attack that fragmented the pink jersey group, Chaves and Kruijswijk were clearly better than the Italian champion on the day, and pulled away from him three kilometres from the summit.
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When Nibali crossed the finish line, he seemed unsure whether his glass was half full or half empty. His pride will have been wounded, certainly, by failing to match Kruijswijk and Chaves' tempo on the upper reaches of the Valparola, but – unlike Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), who laid down arms and lost three minutes – Nibali did not crack and chased alone for 25 kilometres to limit his losses to 37 seconds on the stage.
Nestled in the heart of the Dolomites on Saturday evening, Nibali's performance felt like a defeat, but it is far too soon to say, particularly with a mountain time trial to follow on Sunday afternoon. In Turin next week, Nibali might yet look back on stage 14 as the day he saved his Giro.
As it stands, Nibali lies second overall, 41 seconds down on Kruijswijk. While his emerging rivals will be a worry, the Italian champion can draw solace from how his condition has advanced significantly on last week and how he has effectively ended Valverde's challenge for pink. For his back catalogue alone, Nibali remains the logical favourite for final victory, but both Kruijswijk and Chaves made a strong case for their prospects on the road to Corvara.
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