Simon Yates claimed victory on stage nine to extend his overall lead ©Getty Images

Race leader Simon Yates stormed to victory on the ninth stage of the Giro d'Italia in Gran Sasso, as fellow Briton Chris Froome fell further out of contention after losing more time.

The general classification riders allowed a 12-man breakaway to lead for much of the 225 kilometres stage.

They were caught in the final three kilometres as a steep ascent set up a battle amongst the favourites for the overall title.

Italy's Giulio Ciccone and Domenico Pozzovivo were first to launch moves on the final climb, with the latter making the greater impact.

Yates, his Colombian Mitchelton–Scott team-mate Esteban Chaves, France's Thibaut Pinot and yesterday’s stage winner Richard Carapaz of Ecuador were all able to follow the move.

Froome, defending champion Tom Dumoulin and Italian national champion Fabio Aru instead found themselves suffering further down the road.

An acceleration from Pinot came late on the climb as he looked to secure the stage win, but the pink jersey wearer Yates came through to claim victory in a time of 5 hours, 54min and 13sec.

Pinot and Chaves were both awarded the same time to complete the top three, with Pozzovivo ending four seconds off the pace.

"I realise how big it is to win my first stage with the Maglia Rosa," said Yates, who also earned 10 bonus seconds for the stage win.

"That one is for the boys who rode at the front all day.

"It's really nice.

"Since the beginning of the day we believed in the possibility of winning the stage as well as defending the Maglia Rosa."

Chris Froome lost further time as his hopes of a first Giro d'Italia title look increasingly unlikely ©Getty Images
Chris Froome lost further time as his hopes of a first Giro d'Italia title look increasingly unlikely ©Getty Images

Dumoulin would ultimately cross the line in eighth place on the stage, with the Dutchman losing an additional 12 seconds to Yates, on top of the bonus he gained.

Team Sky's Briton Froome, hoping to add the Giro to his four Tour de France titles and Vuelta win, would fall even further behind after ending 1min and 7sec down on Yates, with Aru a further seven seconds behind.

Froome is also battling to salvage his reputation after a failed drugs test, although he denies wrongdoing.

Following his success Yates currently leads the race by 32 seconds from his team-mate Chaves, with Dumoulin and Pinot 38 and 45 seconds behind respectively.

Froome and Aru are both outside the top 10 at 2:27 and 2:36 down respectively, with their general classification hopes looking an increasingly distant prospect.

Racing will continue on Tuesday (May 15) following tomorrow’s rest day.

Action will resume with a 239km stage from Penne to Gualdo Tadino.