Hirt claims 1st grand tour stage, Carapaz keeps Giro lead

APRICA, Italy (AP) — Czech cyclist Jan Hirt won the tough 16th stage of the Giro d’Italia for his first grand tour victory. Richard Carapaz kept the pink jersey as the race headed into a final week in the high mountains. The 202-kilometer route from Salo to Aprica included one of the sport’s toughest climbs up the Mortirolo. There was a fight for third place and the final bonus seconds between the overall favorites. Jai Hindley edged out Carapaz in a photo finish to reduce the gap to Carapaz to three seconds. João Almeida remained third overall but lost 14 seconds and is now 0:44 behind the Ecuadorian cyclist.