Michele Scarponi (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli) won stage six of the Giro d'Italia after detaching himself from the day's main breakaway that formed 50km into the stage, 30 seconds after he crossed the line Edvald Boasson Hagen (Columbia - High Road) exploded out of the peloton storming past Filippo Pozzato (Katusha) and Allan Davis (Quick-Step) giving him second place with Davis in third.
This is Scarponi's first stage win in the Giro d'Italia, and it comes only months after serving an 18-month ban for his admission to involvement in the Operation Puerto doping scandal. The stage had no real effect on the general classification with Danilo Di Luca retaining the Maglia Rosa and all of the main contenders coming in with the same time.
The racing began when a five-man break formed around 50km into the stage. Gaining a maximum of over 8 minutes the group was split apart by Vasili Kiryienka (Caisse d'Epargne) and Scarponi on the climb up the Hochkrimml.
Behind the leaders, 2000 Giro d'Italia winner Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) attacked out of the main group, and with a strong effort picked up up Kasper Klostergaard (Saxo Bank) from the original break to try to join the two leaders. The summit of the climb was 45km from the finish, so it left plenty of time for any stragglers to rejoin the main group.
After a solid effort the two chasers were caught with 30km to go, but the leading pair worked well together to maintain a solid gap over the peloton. With around 20km to go, Scarponi was on his own after Kiryienka
suffered an untimely mechanical. The man from Belarus was forced to pound his way through a patch of cramping to eventually reconnect with the Italian.
As the finish began to show on the horizon, team Katusha started to drive the peloton to give their man Pozzato a chance at the finish. LPR Brakes joined the Russian team, even sending the classy ciclamino jersey wearer Petacchi to the front to join the efforts for his teammate Di Luca. As the time gap began to come down, Quick-Step decided it was time to chase hard for their talented sprinter Allan Davis.
With around 9km to go Kiryienka was cooked allowing Scarponi powered on with a solo bid for the line.
With 3km to go Scarponi had only 1:08 on the Quick-Step led chase, but with the twists and turns of the narrow roads leading to the finish there was a clear advantage that could be taken by a single rider. Scarponi did just that, and while the main group of 70 riders bottle-necked and stretched as they tried to reel him in, Scarponi crossed the line with enough time to look back, zip up his jersey, and throw his arms into the air as he coasted across the line. Just 30 seconds later the peloton made their lunge to the line with Boasson Hagen getting the best of Davis and Pozzato.
Stage Results:
1. Michele Scarponi (ITA/SDA) 248.0 km in 5hr 49min 55sec.
2. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR/THR) at 0:32.
3. Allan Davis (AUS/QST) 0:32.
4. Filippo Pozzato (ITA/KAT) 0:32.
5. Matthew Goss (AUS/SAX) 0:32.
6. Philippe Gilbert (BEL/SIL) 0:32.
7. Enrico Gasparotto (ITA/LAM) 0:32.
8. Michael Rogers (AUS/THR) 0:36.
9. Danilo Di Luca (ITA/LPR) 0:36.
10. Tadej Valjavec (SLO/ALM) 0:36.
11. Jackson Rodriguez (VEN/SDA) 0:36.
12. Chris Horner (USA/AST) 0:36.
13. Denis Menchov (RUS/RAB) 0:36.
14. Thomas Rohregger (AUT/MRM) 0:36.
15. Eduard Vorganov (RUS/KGZ) 0:36.
16. Thomas Lövkvist (SWE/THR) 0:36.
17. Andriy Grivko (UKR/ISD) 0:36.
18. Franco Pellizotti (ITA/LIQ) 0:36.
19. Ivan Basso (ITA/LIQ) 0:36.
20. Levi Leipheimer (USA/AST) 0:36.
Overall Standings:
1. Danilo Di Luca (ITA/LPR) 22:11:15.
2. Thomas Lovkvist (SWE/THR) at 0:05.
3. Michael Rogers (AUS/THR) 0:36.
4. Levi Leipheimer (USA/AST) 0:43.
5. Denis Menchov (RUS/RAB) 0:50.
6. Ivan Basso (ITA/LIQ) 1:06.
7. Carlos Sastre (ESP/CTT) 1:16.
8. Chris Horner (USA/AST) 1:17.
9. Franco Pellizotti (ITA/LIQ) 1:27.
10. David Arroyo (ESP/GCE) 1:41.
11. Gilberto Simoni (ITA/SDA) 2:01.
12. Yaroslav Popovych (UKR/AST) 2:30.
13. Tadej Valjavec (SLO/ALM) 2:36.
14. Laurens ten Dam (NED/RAB) 2:41.
15. Kevin Seeldraeyers (BEL/QST) 2:49.
16. Félix Cardenas (COL/BAR) 2:55.
17. Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP/GCE) 3:01.
18. Thomas Rohregger (AUT/MRM) 3:15.
19. Marzio Bruseghin (ITA/LAM) 3:16.
20. Gabriele Bosisio (ITA/LPR) 3:21.