Kruijswijk had headed into the 162 kilometre stage from Pinerolo to Risoul with a comfortable three minute advantage over Orica Greenedge rider Chaves, but the Dutchman’s hopes of claiming his first Grand Tour may now have slipped away after he was caught out on a descent down the Colle dell’Agnello.

The 28-year-old had been able to follow Nibali and Chaves at the top of the climb, located at 56 kilometres to the finish, with the trio having dropped the third placed Alejandro Valverde of Spain.

However, after misjudging a corner on the descent, Kruijswijk crashed into snow by the roadside and saw his rivals move clear.

After being forced to change his bike, Kruijswijk’s overall lead was quickly decimated as Nibali and Chaves tackled the final climb of the day at Risoul, with 13 kilometes to go.

An attack from Nibali, inside the final five kilometres, saw him move clear of his Colombian rival to earn the stage win in a time of four hours, 19min and 54sec.

Spain’s Mikel Nieve ultimately caught Chaves to claim second on the stage, with the pair crossing 51 and 53 seconds behind Nibali respectively.

Kruijswijk eventually crossed the line 4:43 after the home favourite, which saw him drop to third in the overall standings as he now lies 1:05 behind the new race leader Chaves and 44 seconds down on the second placed Nibali.

"It's been difficult, I'm happy to have the Maglia Rosa and be so close to winning the Giro but there's another hard stage tomorrow,” said Chaves afterwards.

“I'm sorry for Steven Kruijswijk.

“He made a small mistake in the downhill but he defended himself very courageously.

“I've tried to stay with Nibali but he was too strong for me today.”

The final mountain stages of the 99th edition of the International Cycling Union (UCI) WorldTour race will take place tomorrow, with a 130km route from Guillestre to Sant'Anna di Vinadio.

A 163km flat stage from Cuneo to Torino will the bring the Grand Tour to a close on Sunday (May 29).