MILAN: King of the mountains leader Julian Arredondo won the 18th stage of the Giro d’Italia on Thursday as Colombian compatriot Nairo Quintana held onto the overall race lead.

Trek’s Arredondo broke clear of an escape group in the final 4km and held off another compatriot Fabio Duarte to take the victory by 17sec.

Irishman Philip Deignan of Team Sky took third on the stage, 37sec back at the end of the 171km stage from Belluno to Rif. Panarotta.

Australian 2011 Tour de France winner Cadel Evans was the big loser as he was dropped by the group of favorites and lost his podium place.

The 37-year-old BMC rider dropped to ninth overall from third at the beginning of the day.

Quintana, who took the leader’s maglia rosa (pink jersey) by winning Tuesday’s 16th stage, leads another Colombian, Rigoberto Uran, by 1min 41sec with Frenchman Pierre Roland up to third overall at 3min 29sec.

Arredondo soloed to the biggest win of his life in a thrilling finish on the final climb in which the lead changed hands several times.

After Belgian Thomas De Gendt and Italian Franco Pellizotti had both tried their luck, Arredondo finally made a solo break stick.

Duarte, who had covered an earlier dig from Arredondo 6km out, tried to respond but this time could not bridge the gap.

Behind the breakaway riders, the battle was on for podium places as Movistar’s Quintana expertly marshaled any danger to his overall lead.

Evans was the first to crack giving Roland, whose attacks thinned out the favorites’ group, the chance to snatch a podium spot.

However, he has two riders just two seconds back after Italian Fabio Aru of Astana pulled back a handful of second on the Europcar rider.

Aru is fourth on the same time as fifth-placed Rafal Majka with Italian Domenico Pozzovivo just 23sec behind Roland in sixth.

Froome blasts

Tour de France champion Chris Froome has blasted anti-doping authorities for failing to test riders at altitude training in Tenerife.

Froome, 28, is one of several Tour contenders who use Tenerife’s Mount Teide to help prepare for the gruelling climbs in July’s race.

But the Team Sky rider said he was stunned not to have been tested there during a two-week training camp that ended Wednesday.

“Three major TDF contenders staying on Mt Teide and no out-of-competition tests for the past two weeks. Very disappointing,” said Froome on Twitter.

He added that he was not hoping to catch out his rivals — Italian Vincenzo Nibali and Alberto Contador of Spain — but rather to demonstrate the validity of his efforts and those of his main competition.

“To clarify I am one of those three and I think it’s in all our best interests to be able to prove we are clean no matter where we train,” he added.

The Briton later told Cyclingnews.com he had asked other teams “but none of them, from what I could gather, had been tested either.”

“Alberto, Vincenzo, we’re all up here with our respective teams and at the end of the day we’re the ones that have to stand in front of the television cameras in July and justify performances.