Belgium's Dries De Bondt was victorious from a breakaway at the 18th stage of the Giro d'Italia ©Getty Images

Dries De Bondt earned a surprise maiden Grand Tour victory on the 18th stage of the Giro d'Italia, on a day in which one of the contenders for the podium in João Almeida was forced to drop out due to a positive COVID-19 test.

The 156 kilometres flat course from Borgo Valsugana to Treviso was billed as one for the sprinters, but Belgium's De Bondt took full advantage of an error from the peloton, which miscalculated the speed of a four-rider breakaway.

The Alpecin-Fenix rider excelled in the closing stages, outsprinting Denmark's Magnus Cort of EF Education-EasyPost, and Italian duo Edoardo Affini of Team Jumbo-Visma and Davide Gabburo of Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè to claim a remarkable victory.

De Bondt crossed the finish line first in 3hrs 21min 21sec, followed by Affini in second, with Cort completing the podium.

Alberto Dainese of Italy and Team DSM came through in fifth, 14 seconds off the pace.

Almeida of Portugal and UAE Team Emirates had slipped 1min 54sec behind pink jersey holder Richard Carapaz of Ecuador in the general classification.

Portugal's João Almeida led the young classification and was fourth in the general classification prior to his positive COVID-19 test ©Getty Images
Portugal's João Almeida led the young classification and was fourth in the general classification prior to his positive COVID-19 test ©Getty Images

However, he remained fourth overall, holding a lead of 10:33 over Spain's Juan Pedro López and Trek-Segafredo in the young rider classification, and with third-placed Mikel Landa of Spain and Team Bahrain Victorious still in his sights in the general classification.

Almeida suffered a sore throat overnight, and returned a positive test for COVID-19 which ruled him out of the 18th stage and the remainder of the Giro.

Olympic road race champion and 2019 Giro winner Carapaz of Ineos Grenadiers continues to lead the way in the general classification, crossing the finish line in 22nd place, 14 seconds behind De Bondt.

Nearest challenger Jai Hindley of Australia and Bora-Hansgrohe appeared to fall behind Carapaz in the closing stages, but a puncture means he will not lose any ground under International Cycling Union rules, and remains only three seconds off the pace.

Landa completes the podium, remaining 1min 5sec behind Carapaz.

Three stages remain on this year's Giro, with tomorrow's 19th the penultimate mountain stage.

The 178km route is set to run from Marano Lagunare to Santuario di Castelmonte.