Diego Ulissi won a contentious three-man sprint finish in the 17th stage of the Giro d'Italia yesterday, while Alberto Contador maintained his overall lead.

Giovanni Visconti crossed first but was relegated by the race jury to third place for pushing Ulissi out of the way with his hand.

"I was ahead and I just did my own sprint," Ulissi said. "I didn't do anything wrong."

Visconti maintained that Ulissi altered his trajectory.

"It's incredible. I screamed at Ulissi 10 times," Visconti said. "I nearly wasn't able to stay upright."

Ulissi rode the 230-kilometer leg from Feltre to Tirano, which included a major climb over the Tonale pass and a smaller climb over the Aprica pass, in 5 hours, 31 minutes, 51 seconds.

Pablo Lastras Garcia of Spain crossed third but was awarded second place.

The winners were members of what was once a 16-man breakaway that gained a lead of 7 minutes, 45 seconds over the main pack at one point.

The main pack featuring all of the overall leaders crossed 2:59 later.

Contador remained 4:58 in front of Michele Scarponi in the overall standings, with Vincenzo Nibali 5:45 behind.

Stage 18 today is a 151-kilometre leg from Morbegno to San Pellegrino Terme, featuring one major climb 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the finish.

The three-week race ends Sunday in Milan with a 31.5-kilometre individual time trial.