Pippo powers home in Porto Recanti

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It took until the twelfth day of racing but finally, Italy has a stage winner at this year's Giro d’Italia. However pre-race predictions were again turned upside down, as Filippo Pozzato (Katusha) took Italy’s first victory of the race on a stage that was made for the sprinters.

But do you think there was a big bunch kick in Porto Recanati? No way. There's nothing formulaic about the 2010 Giro d'Italia and just when convention may prevail, a steady day along the Adriatic coast ends with a thrilling finale.

The front of the peloton was torn to shreds in the final 12km, as a star-studded breakaway fought for the honours. While Alexandre Vinokourov seemed content to hand over the race lead to Richie Porte yesterday, today the Astana captain was back on the attack, in a bid for victory and possible time bonuses.

However Pozzato has been around too long and is too cunning to get caught out by Vino's tricks. The Katusha rider timed his run to the line perfectly to first overpower Vino and Vincenzo Nibali, and then hold off Thomas Voeckler (BBox Bouygues Telecom) and Jerôme Pineau (Quick Step), who finished second and third respectively.

It capped off a totally unexpected ending to the day of racing, whereby Garmin-Transitions had appeared to be in control and ready to deliver Tyler Farrar to a third victory. But a late-stage breakaway, which boasted the stars of this year's Giro, crashed Farrar's party and the likes of Damiano Cunego, Michele Scarponi, Stefano Garzelli, Ivan Basso, Vincenzo Nibali, Filippo Pozzato and Alexandre Vinokourov were left to fight it out for the win. A bizarre set of circumstances given the events of yesterday, when none of these riders seemed to have anything left in the tank to bring back the 40-odd-rider escape group that turned the event on its head.

"It’s great to win a stage at the Giro while wearing the Italian champion’s jersey. I’m really happy after all the bad luck I had in the first part of the season,” said Pozzato.

"Since I was a child my dad always brought me to see a stage of the Giro closer to home," continued Pozzato. "And despite many victories in my career, I've never won at the Giro.

"It's a huge satisfaction for me because it comes after a difficult period in which I finished on the podium many times but the victory still hasn’t come."

Ironically, the man who benefited from yesterday's events by inheriting the race lead in sensational circumstances, Australian rider Richie Porte, enjoyed a relatively drama-free first day in the maglia rosa. The Saxo Bank man missed the late attack and so lost a few seconds but heads into Friday’s stage with the leader's jersey still firmly on his shoulders.

"For me it really is a fairytale to wear this maglia rosa," said Porte. "Not even in my wildest dreams had I imagined something so great... and now that I'm here, the Giro seems to me the most beautiful, exciting and hard fought race in the world. Occasionally, I have to pinch myself because I can hardly believe what's happening to me."

Anything but a standard finish

After yesterday's fiasco, the teams of the peloton with a vested interest in the day's result were taking no risks with the breakaway's advantage. No 17-minute head starts and certainly no big names were allowed in the early break.

And so it occurred that Rabobank's Rick Flens attacked after nine kilometres, quickly establishing a gap of several minutes before being joined 32km later by Yuriy Krivtsov (AG2R La Mondiale) and Olivier Kaisen (Omega Pharma-Lotto).

Whilst Flens had amassed an advantage of 9:37 after 30km, the peloton trimmed that to 6:42 as the solo rider became part of a trio and with 72km remaining the gap was hanging at 4:51.

Boasting the Giro's best sprinter and the only man to take two stages of this year's edition, Garmin-Transitions was obliged to keep the pace at the front of the peloton and it accepted the task, ensuring Tyler Farrar was safely tucked away while the likes of Cameron Meyer worked hard pulling the field along in pursuit of the trio.

The American team's timing appeared to be perfect. Having passed the finish line in Porto Recanati for the first time to begin a circuit around the coastal city, and with 20km remaining, the gap was a very manageable 1:10, as Farrar's teammates continued to take care of business ahead of the expected sprint finish.

Then with 14km remaining the race exploded. As the break was caught, Acqua e Sapone's Francesco Failli made a solo bid for the stage win. It was purely speculative but prompted Alessandro Bisolti (Colnago – CSF Inox); stage five winner Pineau, Marco Pinotti (HTC-Columbia) and perennial attacker Thomas Voeckler (BBox Bouygues Telecom) to join the party at the front.

While that move didn't succeed, it was followed soon after by a star-studded counter attack that included the likes of Damiano Cunego, Michele Scarponi, Stefano Garzelli, Ivan Basso, Vincenzo Nibali, Filippo Pozzato and Alexandre Vinokourov, who surged up the Cat 3 climb just 12km from the finish and turned on the gas heading down to the finish.

Behind them the peloton, and within it the sprinter’s hopes of success, were in disarray as again a late-stage surge in pace foiled what looked to be a dead certain big bunch kick. While Cadel Evans was getting tangled in a fracas with Lampre's Daniele Righi, fellow Australian Porte kept his cool and stayed in position to remain in the overall race lead.

Heading into the final kilometre, and with the peloton agonisingly close, Vinokourov made a late run for the line - albeit 800 metres out - with Vincenzo Nibali on his wheel, perhaps hoping to become Italy's first stage winner in this year's Giro.

It wasn't to be for Vino or Nibali, as Pozzato leapt from the break with Voeckler and Pineau on his coat tails to out kick everyone and finally give Italy it’s first individual stage victory in this year’s Giro d’Italia.