Napolitano powers through

McEwen seemed to have victory within his grasp after powering past Petacchi over the final 100 metres, though Napolitano times his final burst to perfection, edging out McEwen by a matter of millimetres on the finish line.

World champion Paolo Bettini was once again left frustrated, and could manage no better than fourth position.

T-Mobile's Marco Pinotti finished safely in the pack, and retains the lead in the overall standings.

After a highly uneventful start to the stage, The Tinkoff Credit Systems duo of Elio Aggiano and Pavel Brutt jumped clear of the peloton, and were swiftly joined by Luis Felipe Laverde and Emmanuele Sella of Panaria.

The latter two took the points available for crossing the summit of the Passo del Cerreto, before taking their foot off the gas. They were quickly swallowed up by the pack, while Andrei Kunitski, Frederic Bessy, Nicolas Crosbie and Simone Masciarelli made a brave attempt at a breakaway, though one whose lead over the field never rose above four minutes.

Tinkoff's Mikhail Ignatiev and Ivan Rovny caused a stir by jumping clear of the peloton with 15 kilometres to go, though were unable to bridge the gap to the lead four, who themselves were caught with six kilometres remaining.

T-Mobile's Pinotti can enjoy another night in the maglia rosa, though will face a major struggle to hang onto the jersey on Tuesday, with a difficult mountain top finish in Santuario.