Italy’s Filippo Ganna claimed his first Giro d’Italia victory since 2021 in the individual time trial on stage 14, as Slovenian Tadej Pogacar extended his overall lead by 61 seconds.

Ineos Grenadiers rider Ganna had to wait more than two hours to celebrate victory after coming out early to set the benchmark with an impressive time of 35 minutes two seconds.

UAE-Team Emirates rider Pogacar, who beat Ganna to win the previous time trial on stage seven, finished 29 seconds behind the home favourite in second as Thymen Arensman finished third.

Pogacar’s second-place finish strengthened his grip on the pink jersey, while Welshman Geraint Thomas of Ineos Grenadiers moved above Colombian rider Dani Martinez of Bora-Hansgrohe into second overall.

“Today I suffered a lot,” said Ganna, a former world time trial champion.

“I was just speaking with Jonathan Milan. For him it’s 70 seconds in the sprint and then you know immediately if you win or not. Today I had to wait two hours.”

Ganna powered through the relatively flat 31.2km route from Castiglione delle Stiviere to Desenzano del Garda before anxiously watching as final rider Pogacar went through the first intermediate check four seconds faster.

The 25-year-old Slovenian began to lose time as his run wore on, however, and Ganna claimed a seventh stage win of his career.

Pogacar began the day two minutes 40 seconds in front of Martinez but has extended his lead to three minutes 41 seconds over Ganna’s team-mate Thomas, who finished fourth to move above the Colombian.