Ricco' rules San Martino di Castrozza

Riccardo Ricco' (Ceramica Flaminia) sprinted to victory from an elite selection at the mountain finish in San Martino di Castrozza to win the Giro del Trentino's second stage.

The 26-year-old Italian bested race leader Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) and defending race champion Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Doimo) at the summit of the 14.5km category 1 ascent comprising the 172.5km stage's finale.

Four survivors of the day's early 13-man break, Guillaume Bonnafond (AG2R La Mondiale), Luca Celli (Ceramica Flaminia), Pavel Brutt (Katusha) and Jackson Rodriguez (Androni Giocattoli), were swept up inside two kilometres to the finish line as a 25-man chase group containing the GC favourites erased the escapees' 4:18 lead held at the beginning of the climb.

Overnight race leader Vinokourov defended his leader's jersey earned from winning the opening day's 12.5km time trial.

The break of the day attacked early in the stage and by km 35 the 13-man escape led the field by 4:35. The breakaway included Mirko Selvaggi (Astana), Mirco Lorenzetto (Lampre-Farnese Vini), Guillaume Bonnafond (AG2R La Mondiale), Pavel Brutt (Katusha), Jackson Rodriguez (Androni Giocattoli), Donato Cannone and Luca Celli (Ceramica Flaminia), Stefano Borchi (De Rosa - Stac Plastic), Matic Strgar (Vorarlberg - Corratec), Jacek Morajko (Mroz Active Jet), Andreas Schillinger (Team Netapp) and Kristjan Fajt (Adria Mobil).

The escapees achieved their maximum advantage of 6:25 after 58km of racing before the peloton began its steady reduction of their lead.

The break split on the first of two category 1 climbs, the Passo Broccon, with its summit arriving 46.7km from the finish. Bonnafond crested the summit first ahead of Fajt and Schillinger as part of a nine-rider selection. Lorenzetto, Morajko, Borchi and Strgar couldn't hold the pace and were dropped.

A further selection of the leading group occurred on the approach of the 14.5km finishing climb as only five riders began the category 1 ascent to the finish in San Martino di Castrozza in the race lead: Bonnafond, Celli, Brutt, Rodriguez and Fajt. The quintet held a 4:18 advantage over the peloton as they began to climb.

As the leaders hit the steepest gradient of the climb, a 10 percent section with 5km remaining, Fajt was dropped as a 30-man chase group containing race leader Vinokourov and the other GC contenders reduced their deficit to 1:30.

One kilometre later, Robert Kiserlovski (Liquigas-Doimo) attacked the chasing group and sped off alone in pursuit of the break. With three kilometres remaining the Croatian was 27 seconds behind the leaders while the Vinokourov group was a further 19 seconds back.

Kiserlovski made contact with the four leaders at 2km to go, but all were soon swept up by a chase group of favourites approximately 25 strong prior to the flamme rouge. From this group Ricco' powered to victory ahead of Vinokourov and Basso with only four additional riders able to finish with the same time on the mountain finish.