The Slovenian UAE Team Emirates rider dominated once again on a tough route which had an altitude gain of 3,850 metres, coming out on top on the 15km climb to Prati di Tivo.

Valentin Paret-Peintre had raced ahead of the peloton in a brave effort to break away until he was caught four kilometres from the finish, before UAE Team Emirates looked to dictate the pace on the final stages of the climb.

Rafal Majka looked to set up Pogacar for the win but Antonio Tiberi and Thymen Arensman had other ideas as both tried to attack.

Pogacar, twice Tour de France champion, stayed on their heels, however, before he surged ahead on the final sprint to the finish to take the stage after more than four hours of racing.

Dani Martinez came second for Bora-Hansgrohe and Australian Ben O'Connor was third for Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale.

"I was not expecting to win at all today. But as a team we rode super well from the beginning. We hit the last climb with a good advantage," Pogacar said.

"Rafal Majka did a great job in the lead-out. It's amazing to win again here at Prati di Tivo. As soon as we survived the first long categorised climb, my team mates wanted me to go for the stage win.

"We already saw Dani Martinez doing very good finishes this year, obviously I was thinking of him as my main opponent, but he wasn't the only one. Antonio Tiberi tried a few times, but I had it more or less under control."

Pogacar now has a lead of two minutes and 40 seconds on Martinez in the general classification with Ineos Grenadiers rider Geraint Thomas a further 18 seconds behind.