With one stage remaining Contador, eighth on the stage, holds
a lead of more than five minutes over Michele Scarponi with another Italian
Vincenzo Nibali in third place.
"The victory is getting closer and closer and I'm very
happy about that," said three-times Tour de France winner Contador.
"A lot of different riders have been strong at
different points in the race, but the key has been consistency throughout.
"Today was a very tough stage, there was a big break
that went very early and my team had to work hard but in the last part my only
aim was to control the closest rivals overall and that went well." Saturday's final summit finish of the Giro was
won by Movistar rider Kiryienka, who dedicated his victory to his team mate
Xavier Tondo of Spain who died in a domestic accident last Monday.
Kiryienka attacked from a 13-rider break on the Colle delle Finestre,
the penultimate climb of the day. Venezuela's Jose Rujano was second and
Spaniard Joaquim Rodriguez third.
"This stage was just as hard as when I won in the Giro
back in 2008, and I'm pleased I could win for Xavier on such a difficult,
special day," Kiryienka said.
"It wasn't easy for the team to continue in the race
after what happened to Xavier. I'm happy to have won, but sad at the same time.
It's a great day for me and for my team."
The race finishes on Sunday with
an individual time trial through the streets of Milan.
"I'm not going to be taking any risks on the corners or
going flat out," Contador added. "Tomorrow is a day I want to enjoy."
