Duarte prevails on penultimate stage

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Fabio Duarte (Geox-TMC) showcased his climbing talent with a victory on the category 1 Fai della Paganella mountain finish in stage 3 of the Giro del Trentino. The 24-year-old Colombian, the 2008 U23 road race world champion, bested an elite selection of seven riders which formed 4km from the top of the 10.7km ascent to the finish.

Tiago Machado (RadioShack) finished second in the same time as Duarte, while race leader Michele Scarponi (Lampre-ISD) crossed the line three seconds later in third place.

Steve Morabito (BMC Racing Team), Robert Kiserlovski (Astana) and Domenico Pozzovivo (Colnago-CSF Inox) finished fourth through sixth respectively in the same time as Scarponi while José Rujano (Androni Giocattoli) took seventh, a further five seconds back.

Duarte earned his first victory of the season and hopes for an opportunity to again make his presence known in the mountains of the upcoming Giro d'Italia, the Colombian's first Grand Tour start.

"I knew I'd be able to win," said Duarte. "I'll be [teammate Carlos] Sastre’s domestique next at the Giro d’Italia, although I hope to play my own cards sooner or later."

An early break containing Stefano Borchi (De Rosa-Ceramica Flaminia), Adrian Honkisz (CCC Polsat Polkowice) and Anthony Charteau (Europcar) was reeled in after the first ascent of the Fai della Paganella, where Honkisz took maximum KOM points, setting up a showdown amongst the overall contenders on the decisive second ascent of the first category climb.

Scarponi remains in the overall lead with one stage remaining, although second-placed overall Machado reduced the Italian's general classification advantage. The three-second gap between Machado and Scarponi at the finish coupled with the time bonus cut the Italian's overall lead from 12 to seven seconds.

"I tried to attack twice, but there was no way to take him out, so I preferred to stay calm keeping an eye on Pozzovivo," said Scarponi. "I decided to not contest the sprint, being a bit tired, but it was looking nice anyway.

"I know I'm not at my best, I've still got to improve. On the other hand, my team worked smoothly, I'm happy for that."

The big loser on the day was Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale), who started the day in third overall, 14 seconds behind Scarponi. Nibali, however, faltered on the finishing climb, ultimately crossing the line in 22nd place, 1:26 behind Duarte. Nibali now holds 15th overall, 1:41 off the race lead.

"Maybe he had planned to do so, I don't care so much," said Scarponi. "I know I'll have a hard task to defeat him at the Giro d’Italia anyhow."

Luca Ascani (d'Angelo & Antenucci-Nippo) moves from fourth to third overall although the Italian lost time to Scarponi. Ascani finished 10th on the stage, 14 seconds after Scarponi, and now lies 33 seconds behind his compatriot on general classification.

The 35th edition of the Giro del Trentino concludes on Friday with a 161.5km stage between Andalo and Madonna di Campiglio. There may be more GC shake-ups to come in the final stage as it, too, finishes on a category one climb, the 11.7km Madonna di Campiglio, with a pair of category two climbs preceding the finale. The top five riders on general classification start the stage separated by just 35 seconds.