While not on the scale of 2010's stage to L'Aquila, the shark-toothed profile of this 144km leg to Castefidardo suggests a day packed with attacks, even among general classification contenders.
On an uphill drag to the line, with the steepest pitch inside of the final kilometre, John Gadret (AG2R La Mondiale) rocketed out of a diminished peloton to take his first Grand Tour stage win.
The Frenchman overtook Daniel Moreno (Katusha), the last survivor of the day's decisive 11-man break, with 200m remaining and held off the charge of Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) and Italian champion Giovanni Visconti (Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli) for the victory.
Gadret dedicated his win to Wouter Weylandt. "I thought all day of Wouter's funeral," he told the AFP news agency after the finish. "Although I am not a Belgian, I had to win for him. Cycling is a big family. Since his death I keep thinking about the crash. I wanted to do something to honour him, I am satisfied."
John wore Gaerne Carbon G.Mythos in special edition pink colour for this Grand Tour stage win.
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