Formolo formed part of the day’s breakaway group on the 157-kilometres mountain stage from Corenc to Saint-Martin-de-Belleville.

The UAE Team Emirates rider opted to launch a solo effort on the Col de la Madeleine, with the Italian national champion enjoying a 45 second cushion over his nearest challenger Pierre Latour of France at the summit.

Formolo pushed on during the descent as he sought to extend his advantage over the peloton prior to the final climb of the day.

He held a lead of 3min 50sec over the main group at the start of the 15km Saint-Martin-de-Belleville climb.

The advantage was quickly reduced as the general classification contenders chased on the climb, with American Sepp Kuss working impressively for his team leader Roglič.

But Formolo was able to hold on to secure the stage victory in a time of 4 hours 06min 56sec.

Roglič crossed the line second as one of seven riders to finish seven seconds down, including France’s Thibaut Pinot and Germany’s Emanuel Buchmann.

The result saw the Team Jumbo–Visma rider gain further time on general classification rival Egan Bernal, with the Colombian finishing a further nine seconds adrift.

Reigning Vuelta a Espana champion Roglič now leads the race by 14 seconds from Pinot, with Buchmann 20 seconds behind the leader in third.

Bernal, the reigning Tour de France champion, lies in seventh place at 31 seconds down on Roglič.

The International Cycling Union WorldTour race is due tol continue tomorrow with the first of back-to-back mountain stages finishing in Megève.

Riders will face a 153km route from Ugine to Megève, before the final stage is scheduled for Sunday (August 16.

The five-stage event has been viewed as key for riders’ preparation for the Tour de France.

The first Grand Tour of the disrupted season is scheduled to take place from August 29 to September 20.