Steve Cummings put in a brave bid for victory on stage 17 of the Giro d'Italia but had to be content with fifth place in the end after Damien Monier hung on to beat breakaway accomplices Danilo Hondo and Steven Kruijswijk to victory.

Those four riders had all formed part of a 19-man group which moved clear of the peloton after 50km and maintained a lead of over 11 minutes as they made their way up to the destination town of Peio Terme.

After numerous late attacks, Monier (Cofidis), Hondo (Lampre) and Kruijswijk (Rabobank) eventually made there's stick in the final 13km and Cummings joined forces with Daniel Moreno (Omega Pharma-Lotto) as the duo attempted to bridge the gap back to the lead trio.

It was not to be though and Monier kicked again with 3km to go and powered on to the finish line to claim his first professional victory by 36 seconds. Cummings ended the day just behind Moreno, one minute 18 seconds down on Monier.

The main contenders for the overall crown enjoyed a relatively trouble-free day in the saddle and rolled in together over 11 minutes off the pace. As a result there were no significant changes in the general classification, with Caisse d'Epargne's David Arroyo maintaining his 2min 27sec advantage over Ivan Basso (Liquigas), with Richie Porte (Saxo Bank) a further 17 seconds behind in third.