Jai Hindley has lost two more potentially crucial seconds in his battle to make the Vuelta a Espana podium but the Australian will not mind that after he helped his Italian teammate Giulio Pellizzari grab victory on stage 17 of the Vuelta a Espana.

While Hindley and his fellow top general classification contenders ended up watching each other on the ride to the summit finish at Alto de El Morredero, it allowed Pellizzari to unleash an unchecked attack 3.5km from home and come home alone 16 seconds clear for his first Grand Tour triumph.

Behind him, there was a late skirmish as Q36.5 Pro Cycling's Tom Pidcock and Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe's Hindley sprinted for the extra bonus seconds on offer to the stage runner-up.

Ultimately, Pidcock edged that battle, and has now extended his lead over

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