Gasparotto strikes in Colmurano

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Italy's Enrico Gasparotto won the fifth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico to Colmurano on Sunday thanks to an intelligent ride in the tough finale of the race.

After a difficult 2009 at Lampre, the blonde Italian is now back to his best at Astana and his impressive win must make him an outsider for victory in Saturday's Milano-Sanremo.

Gasparotto is more of a sprinter than a climber but cleverly made sure he had a chance of victory on the steep climb to Colmurano by going across to a late attack by Spain's Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Euskaltel-Euskadi).

Gasaprotto was caught by Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone), teammate Maxim Iglinskiy and world champion Cadel Evans (BMC) after the 15 per cent section that ended with 1.5km to go, but he still had the strength and speed to win the sprint.

Garzelli finished second, with Iglinskiy taking third after slightly blocking Garzelli in the sprint. Evans was fourth after making an unsuccessful late attack. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Doimo) brought home the chasers at eight seconds.

Overall leader Michele Scarponi (Androni Giocattoli) lost a few seconds on the steep climb but managed to keep his overall lead despite a nasty crash with teammate Jose Serpa on a descent. Garzelli is now second at 10 seconds, Iglinskiy is third at 15 seconds, with Evans fourth at 18 seconds. There are only two stages to race at this year's Tirreno-Adriatico but it is still a wide-open race.

"I thought I was done for three kilometres from the finish when I saw the wide road and the climb," Gasparotto said in the press conference.

"Fortunately I managed to dose my effort, make it over the top of the climb and I had enough to keep going when Garzelli came across to me. I sat on him and caught my breath before giving it everything in the sprint."

"I had a difficult 2009 at Lampre but I actually learnt lot. You learn more when you lose races than when you win them. Lampre let me ride Amstel Gold, Fleche-Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege and now I think I can do something in the Classics. I'm not a campione, I've got to give it 110 per cent to win, I'm not like Pozzato who can win when he's only at 70 per cent. But I know that working hard and making sacrifices pays off in cycling."

Gasparotto knows that his first big Classics win could be Milano-Sanremo. In theory he could win it in a sprint but is hoping for a hard and selective race.

"At Astana we've got Iglinskiy, Basayev, Davis and me. We'll be trying to make it a hard race, right from the climb of the Manie. That could decide everything later and I know that other teams like Acqua & Sapone and Pozzato at Katusha are hoping for a similar race to get ride of the sprinters. We're going to attack for sure."

Scarponi keeps the leader's jersey despite a crash

Michele Scarponi pulled on the race leader's azzurra blue jersey but then went to hospital for x-rays on his arm and hip. He was hurting after his high-speed crash on the descent of the Sasso Tetto climb but insisted he could still win this year's Tirreno-Adriatico.

Monday's 134km sixth stage is from Montecosaro to Macerata. It is far shorter than the last two days of racing but includes four hilly circuits of Macerata and so could still cause Scarponi some problems. Garzelli and Evans will surely go on the attack and the final four kilometres climb at 4 per cent, with the final kilometre at 11.3 per cent.

"Everything went great until the Sasso Tetto climb, the team was really strong and controlled things even though it wasn't easy," he said.

"Then Serpa crashed in front of me on the descent. I got up quickly and took a wheel from Serpa and actually left him lying in the road bleeding. I got back on at the bottom of the decent and did what I could to hold onto my rivals on the final climb."

"The next stage is going to be difficult. It's short and intense and my rivals' morale will be high after my crash. But I hope to recover and I'm motivated because it's near home and I really want to win again. Evans and Garzelli are my biggest rivals but everyone is dangerous and the finish is tough. There could be time gaps."

Racing through the snow

The stage took the peloton into the heart of the Monte Sibillini mountains but with snow still blocking some roads, race organisers were forced to cut the Forca di Presta climb and reduce the stage distance to 216km instead of the planned 234km.

The riders did not complain at the start and were happy to roll out in the sun, with temperatures more like a real Italian spring after the snowstorms and cold rain of the opening stages.

11 riders formed the early break of the day, with Marco Pinotti (HTC-Columbia) Daniele Oss (Liquigas-Doimo), Roger Hammond (Cervelo TestTeam), Sacha Modolo (Colnago–ISF Inox), Dymitro Grabovskyy ISD-Neri), Marco Bandiera (Katusha), Lloyd Mondory (Ag2r- La Mondiale), Alan Perez Lezaun (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Johan Van Summeren (Garmin-Transitions), Luca Mazzanti (Katusha) and Kapser Klostergaard (Saxo Bank) either looking for personal glory or hoping to be their for their team leader later in the stage.

However the steady chasing by Androni Giocattoli and the tough terrain took its toll and the 11 were caught on the Sasso Tetto climb. Pinotti was the last caught at km 161km as the snow covered the mountains.

The descent was just as spectacular with Scarponi crashing. It was a bad day for his Androni Giocattoli team, with Leonardo Bertagnolli and Jose Serpa also crashing. Bertagnolli only had minor injuries but Serpa suffered a nasty cut to his eyebrow. He got up and finished the stage but his face was covered in blood.

The stage was always going to be decided by the final short but near-vertical climb to the finish in the village of Colmurano.

Oroz Ugalde (Euskaltel-Euskadi) got a gap but Gasparotto went deep to get across to him to play an intelligent game plan.

Acqua & Sapone desperately lead the chase to set up Garzelli and the former Giro d'Italia winner surged across to Gasparotto on the climb. Oroz Ugalde struggled and was dropped but Gasparotto made it to the top and was able to stay with Garzelli. When Evans brought Iglinskiy across, it was two Astana riders against the rest and the numbers were clearly in Gasparotto's favour.

He did not mess it up, showing he was still strong, and won the sprint. With form and smart racing like that, he really could be a surprise contender in next Saturday's Milan-San Remo.