Tim Wellens wins fourth stage of the Giro d'Italia as Chris Froome struggles

Wellens beat Canada's Michael Woods, who was seconds ahead of Italian Enrico Bataglin

The Lotto-Soudal rider was on the right end of a late split (Getty)

Belgian Tim Wellens lived up to expectations when he won the fourth stage of the Giro d'Italia, a 202-km treacherous ride from Catania with a steep finish as Chris Froome struggled on Tuesday.

After three opening days in Israel and a rest day, the Giro finally reached Italian soil, with Wellens tipped as a favourite for the day's stage.

The Lotto-Soudal rider was on the right end of a late split and he sustained his effort on an 800-metre climb up an average gradient of almost 10 percent to the finish line.

He beat Canada's Michael Woods, who was seconds ahead of Italian Enrico Bataglin.

Four-time Tour de France champion Froome, who is under investigation for a failed dope test in last year's Vuelta, struggled in the finale and lost some 20 seconds, according to provisional results.

Australian Rohan Dennis retained the overall leader's pink jersey with a one-second advantage over defending champion Tom Dumoulin of the Netherlands.

Portgual's Jose Goncalves, one of the overall contenders, suffered a couple of mechanical problems in the finale and dropped out of the top 10.