Dumoulin drops from the rear, in more ways than one!

It was the stage that when they unveiled the 2017 Giro route, everyone got excited about. The queen stage. A trip over the Passo Del Mortirolo and two runs up the Passo Dello Stelvio. The day of reckoning. The most dramatic day when, for some, the shit would hit the fan...or, as it turned out, the side of the road.

It was to be a long day in the saddle; a slow wearing down process. The suffering would build and the elastic would snap and the time gaps would be enormous. Many considered it a day for Tom Dumoulin to limit his loses, but the manor on which he had to do so was unusual to say the least.

At the foot of the days final climb, he stopped, climbed off and lowered his shorts. When you need to go, you need to go, as they say. Dumoulin couldn't control his bowels any longer. As he done his number two, the race moved up the mountain. It left fans debating the rights and wrongs of the racing going on without him, but they didn't have any choice. Waiting was not realistic. In that moment, Steve Kruijswijk was in a break almost two minutes further up the road. A threat to the top five.

Waiting for a rider following a freak crash is one thing. So is waiting for a call of nature with 100km still to go. But when you're on the run-in and the race is on, all bets are off. If you wait for Dumoulin because he had a weak stomach today, do you wait for someone else who has weak legs tomorrow? If Nibali pulls up with cramp on the final climb tomorrow, do we debate whether they wait? These three week Grand Tours are a full body effort; a test of physical and mental conditioning. It works the mind, the heart, the lungs, the immune system and the digestive system. Fatigue plays a part. Dumoulin's issue may be part of a greater suffering, or it could be a freak incident, but either way the race is one of attrition.

It's the same as when someone crashes. If it's at a key moment and the crash is their own error, then why should anyone wait? Fatigue could cause that crash. It's one thing if a fan steps out and takes a man down, but if he overshoots a corner by going too fast? And even a mechanical is part of the game in my mind. That isn't to say I enjoyed what happened, indeed I'd quite like to see Dumoulin win this Giro, but this is a race and as the old cliche goes, when the race is on, it's on.

The condition of Dumoulin will be fascinating to follow, though it does appear to be a one-off. He flew up the final climb and limited his loses to Quintana to 2 minutes 6 seconds come the finish. The Colombian himself finished 12 seconds behind stage winner Vincenzo Nibali. The Italian attacked near the top of the final climb bringing Quintana, Ilnur Zakarin and Domenico Pozzovivo with him. On the descent he moved clear of the rest, bridging across to the final man from the break, Mikel Landa. In the two-up sprint the Italian had the legs and he gave his country their first stage win of the race so far. Such a result will settle nerves among the restless natives who will now hope their hero can push on to challenge for the pink jersey. A late run to glory in the Giro worked well for the shark last year. The upshot on the general classification is that Dumoulin's lead in the pink jersey is now down to a mere 31 seconds. Nibali is at 1 minute 12 seconds.

If anything Dumoulin's poop-gate adds a further layer of intrigue to this Giro. He will be angry that they didn't wait, while Quintana will see an opportunity. Dumoulin has looked so good thus far that the lead he had amassed was beginning to look unassailable. Now it's all up for grabs again. But with a time-trial still to come, that 31 second lead he has on paper might well be good for about 2 minutes in theory. So Quintana still has a lot of attacking to do.

Standings after stage 16:

1. Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) in 70h14'48"

2. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) @ 31"

3. Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) @ 1'12"

4. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) @ 2'38"

5. Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha) @ 2'40"

6. Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R La Mondiale) @ 3'5"