Lampre-Merida's Diego Ulissi has won the seventh stage of the 98th Giro D'Italia.
A long 264km stage from Grosseto to the spa town of Fiuggi saw race leader Alberto Contador lead out the 189 riders despite the injuries he suffered in a crash in the closing stages of stage six. Daniele Colli of Nippo Fantini was also badly injured in that crash and he did not start.
Four riders in Marco Bandiera (Androni Giocattoli), Nicola Boem (Bardiani-CSF), Nikolay Mihaylov (CCC Sprandi), and Pier Paolo De Negri (Nippo-Vini Fantini), went on the attack and were allowed to get eleven minutes clear before the gap steadied at 8.18 after seventy one kilometres of racing in a stage which was the longest since 1989
The gap did go up to 9.47 but after one hundred kilometres, it was back down to 8.55.
Marco Bandiera took the first sprint of the day on the Vellejinga Circuit ahead of Boem and Negri with Team Sky's Elia Viviani taking some points to give the joint lead in the points competition as the gap went back out to 11.04.
Paolo De Negri took the points on the only climb of the day in front of big crowds which failed to affect Jan Polanc in the KOM jersey.
Going into the final fifty kilometres with a lead of 5.12 which dropped to 3.08 some six kilometres later and was down to 1.30 with 37 kilometres to left.
Bandiera took the intermediate sprint with Viviani getting three points to take him ahead of Andrei Greipel in the red jersey competition.
As the speed ramped up, Team Sky's Konstantin Siutsou crashed near to a lorry parked in a layby but was soon back on his way.
The gap to the four out front was at 32 seconds so Bulgarian Nikolay Mihaylov (CCC Sprandi) went as the others were swept up by a Tinkoff Saxo led peloton.
A wave from Mihaylov to the television cameras and it was all over for the day's escapers.
With ten kilometres to go, the riders took on an unclassified six kilometre climb of 4.4% average gradient with Contador in third wheel behind two team mates.
Through a 700m tunnel and Tinkoff Saxo led them out before Team Sky took over, then Lotto Soudal.
This was heading for a sprint and it was Pieter Weening leading under the flam rouge. Lampre came to the front on a couple of turns before they hit the finishing straight.
Up came Diego Ulissi and he won in 7.22.2 ahead of Lobato ,Gerrans, Belletti and Battaglin, followed by Colbrelli, Felline, Bole, Reza and Lagutin.
Alberto Contador continues to lead the race.
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