Amador took the lead after Stage 13, when race leader Bob Jungels (EQS) was dropped by the favourites on the final climb, finishing 50 seconds behind the group and over two minutes behind stage winner, Sky's Mikel Nieve, giving Sky something to cheer after a hugely disappointing Giro following Landa's withdrawal.
Stage 14 had been tagged pre-race as the queen stage, and it certainly proved to be a stage that sent shockwaves through the GC battle. Esteban Chaves won for Orica-GreenEDGE, just fending off Kruijswijk and Georg Preidler (TGA) to take a memorable win.
Behind them, the other GC contenders were attacking each other. Overnight leader Amador dropped off the GC group before managing to claw his way back, only to drop back later in the stage. Nibali looked game all day, attacking with Kruijswijk some 30km from the finish, but unable to match the Dutchman's pace as the attack continued.
Movistar, meanwhile, were in trouble. With Amador lagging, it seemed that the way was clear for Alejandro Valverde to finally assert himself as Movistar's sole leader, but his legs failed him too on the Passo Valparola, ultimately costing him over three minutes with Kruijswijk's bonus seconds taken into account.
With Ilnur Zakarin and Rafal Majka finishing together, just 30 seconds ahead of Valverde, it was Nibali who limited his losses the best of the other GC contenders, but he still lost 43 seconds to Kruijswijk, who overtook everyone to take the maglia rosa by 41 seconds from Nibali, 90 from Chaves and 3 minutes clear of the rest, still led by Valverde.
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Stage 15 was the hotly anticipated mountain time trial, and Kruijswijk managed to put even more time into those chasing him in the General Classification. The Dutchman blitzed almost everyone, beaten by only the impressive Alexander Foliforov of Gazprom-Rusvelo. Valverde made up time on the rest of the contenders, finishing third, and around 30 seconds ahead of a cluster of GC contenders including Chaves, Zakarin, and Majka.
Another poor day on the bike for Amador dropped him to five minutes back in the standings, now a distant seventh, and two minutes behind Valverde, who must now get the full backing of Movistar if they have any intention to leave Italy with the maglia rosa.
But as far as poor days go, Vincenzo Nibali had a time trial that may well prove to have cost him the 2016 Giro d'Italia. He lost over two minutes to Kruijswijk after a disastrous day, where he was already almost a minute behind the leader's time before his chain slipped.
As his rear wheel seized, Nibali threw his bike aside in frustration, His team provided him with a new bike quickly, but the damage was already done, as Nibali remained third in GC but slipped to nearly three minutes behind the leader.
So from being unfancied, Kruijswijk's guts and determination have given him a significant lead in the General Classification, one which looks distinctly defendable over the last week, with pre-race favourites Nibali and Valverde both needing to rescue around three minutes to get back in the hunt. Chaves is closer, around a minute ahead of the elite pair. A Giro that had looked to be a duel is now tantalisingly set with just six days' racing to go.
General Classification
1. Steven Kruijswijk (TLJ) 60:41:22
2. Esteban Chaves (OGE) + 2:12
3. Vincenzo Nibali (AST) + 2;51
4. Alejandro Valverde (MOV) + 3:29
5. Rafal Majka (TNK) + 4:38
6. Ilnur Zakarin (KAT) + 4:40
7. Andrey Amador (MOV) + 5:27
8. Bob Jungels (EQS) + 7:14
9. Kanstantsin Siutsou (DDD) + 7:37
10. Jakob Fuglsang (AST) + 7:55
Sprint Classification
1. Giacomo Nizzolo (TFS) 138
2. Diego Ulissi (LAM) 112
3. Sacha Madolo (LAM) 84
King of the Mountains
1. Damiano Cunego (NIP) 134
2. Stefan Denifl (IAM) 72
3. Darwin Atapuma (BMC) 69
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