Mikel Nieve won the 15th stage of the Giro D'Italia this afternoon.
Stage 15 was 229km long and from Congeliano to Gardeccia-Val di Fassa. It comprised of five ranked climbs. the highest climb of the race and a mountaintop finish on gravel roads.
There was safety in numbers today in a race which saw Robbie Hunter not start and eighteen riders including the likes of Yaroslaw Popovych, Johnny Hoogerland, Pieter Veening and Carlos Sastre got clear.
Their lead on the peleton which inlcuded the Maglia Rosa leader Alberto Contador was nine and a half minutes with seventy kilometres to go.
Johnny Hoogerland attacked on his own and got ninety seconds ahead of the chasing group as the race went up the Passo Giau (2,236m). Stefan Garzelli ,who was 23 minutes down on Contador, found some speed and flew past Hoogerland on roads that had been cleared of snow.
Alberto Contador started to move up the field on the descent which was made up of a good number of switchbacks.
Garzelli increased his lead and was six and a half minutes ahead with twenty kms to go whilst a swash buckling descent saw Nibali get into Contador's group after being a minute and a half behind.
Behind Garzelli with less than ten kilometres to go, Conador and Nibali were involved in a battle royale to try and get up to second placed Mikel Nieve who finally caught up to Garzelli with less than six to go.
In pouring rain, Alberto Contador (pictured below) went on the final climb of the day 
Euskatel rider Nieve continued to push at the front and was 35 seconds ahead of Garzelli with a kilometre and a half to go.
Mikel Nieve looked absolutely shattered but he found the energy to win in a time of 7hr 27 mins and 14 seconds.
Second was Stefan Garzelli with Albrto Contador in third and Michelle Scarponi in fourth.
Tomorrow is a rest day before Tuesday's time trial from Belluno to Nevegal.
Picture copyright of Covsupport News Service. Credit CNS/Jeff
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Marcel Kittel won the Skoda Velothon Berlin today. The 22-year-old German rider of Skil-Shimano was the fastest in the sprint, his sixth win of the season and already the eleventh victory of the team this year. In Berlin Kittel was faster then the Italian Giacomo Nizzolo (Leopard) and Russian rider Alexei Markov (Russia National Selection). The youngster was able to finish of the work of the team. Skil-Shimano went to the new German 1.1 race with a sprinters squad and made a sprint train in the final. Roger Kluge, Tom Veelers, Roy Curvers and Robin Chaigneau were the perfect pacemakers to bring Kittel to the victory.
The ProRace Berlin is a new big and ambitious classic around and through Germany's capital. The race over 182 km started in front of the historic Brandenburger Tor.