Jonas Vingegaard secured the Giro d'Italia leader's pink jersey for the first time after a stunning solo victory on stage 14.
The race favorite dominated the alpine summit finish, completing a hat-trick of stage wins and proving too strong for his general classification rivals.
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The Visma-Lease a Bike rider launched a decisive attack with less than 5km remaining of the grueling 133km mountain route from Aosta to Pila.
Vingegaard now targets becoming the eighth cyclist in history to win all three Grand Tours.
Felix Gall of Decathlon CMA CGM finished second, 49 seconds behind, while former champion Jai Hindley took third.
Dominant Team Performance
The Visma-Lease a Bike squad controlled the race from the start, setting up their leader on the final climb to Pila, which featured 20 steep hairpins.
The demanding ascent caused severe difficulties for previous race leader Afonso Eulalio and many other riders.
"Today we made a plan from the start with the team, and we wanted to control the race, and that's what my teammates did," Vingegaard said.
"It was really impressive how they rode, and I'm so proud of my teammates, and I'm proud that I can pay them back, it's a super nice win."
The race started with immediate climbing, prompting a large breakaway on the ascent of Saint-Barthelemy while Visma organized the pursuit.
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Visma rider Tim Rex executed a massive stint at the front, showing visible strain near the summit of Lin Noir as teammate Victor Campenaerts poured water over his head.
