Viviani ends Team Sky's dominance in Crevalcore

Elia Viviani (Cannondale) ended Team Sky's dominance at the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali by winning the third stage around Crevalcore, near Bologna.

The Italian sprinter beat Ben Swift (Team Sky) and Rino Gasparrini (Mg Kvis Trevigiani) in a fast finish after 12 laps of a flat circuit. Pete Kennaugh (Team Sky) retained the overall race lead by finishing in the peloton.

It was Viviani's first win of the 2014 season after he focused on the early-season races and the track world championships.

The 158km stage consisted of 12 laps of a flat 13.2km circuit. A sprint was expected but an 18-rider breakaway made the peloton work for it and make Team Sky work hard to control Kennaugh's overall race lead. The British team also lost Joe Dombrowski and Philip Deignan which further complicated matters.

The 18 riders included a wide selection of lesser-known riders but the peloton refused to let them go, despite the average speed touching 50km/h on the early laps.

The Christina Watches–Kuma did much of the chasing early on, no doubt working for Mattia Gavazzi. The Cannondale team also hit the front of the peloton with Under 23 world champion Matej Mohoric doing long turns to bring the break back and set up Viviani.

The breakaway's lead topped out at 1:32 after five laps but then gradually fell as the kilometres ticked by. It was just 30 seconds after nine laps and the peloton was back together after 130km.

However the peloton split because of the speed, with 94 riders going clear and the chasers losing a minute. Team Sky hit the front late to lead out Swift but Cannondale was also active and vigilant. Viviani was well-placed in the finale and won the sprint by a bike length, letting a roar of celebration.

The four-day Coppi e Bartali stage race ends on Sunday with a final 10km hilly time trial from Pavullo al Castello di Montecuccolo.