Katusha's Luca Paolini won the third stage of the 96th Giro D'Italia.
Stage three was a 222km stage from Sorrento to Marina di Ascea for the riders which included race leader Salvatore Puccio of Team Sky who leads from team mate Sir Bradley Wiggins after points jersey wearing Mark Cavendish lost the Maglia Rosa on the team time trial.
Fabio Taborre (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia), Manuele Boaro (Team Saxo-Tinkoff), Willem Wauters (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team), Jarlinson Pantano (Colombia), Bert De Backer (Team Argos-Shimano), Dirk Bellemakers (Lotto Belisol), and Jackson Rodriguez (Androni Giocattoli), were in the first break of the day to stick and they had built up a five minute, thirty eight second lead after the opening thirty five kilometres.
The gap had gone out to 6.34 by the time, Taborre took the full quota of points at the first of two intermediate sprints.
After crashes involving first Paolo Tiralongo, in the feedzone and then a RadioShack and Vacansoleil rider, Team Sky took their turn on the front of the peloton with 103kms to go.
With the gap at 5.17, the riders took on the 551m San Mauro Cilento climb. Bert De Backer struggled to keep up with the escapers who were trying to get up the steepest part of the climb. Willem Wauters won the sprint to take the King Of The Mountains climb after 153kms ahead of Boaro and Taborre who were now 3.43 ahead of the peloton which had shed Mark Cavendish, Steve Cummings, the white jersey wearing Alex Dowsett and a number of riders, who were just under two minutes back.
Fabio Taborre was now the virtual leader on the road and went away inside the fifty kilometres to go mark on a glorious day weather wise with speeds of 38.89kmph.
Taborre built up a lead of 1.18 on the other five escapers but only 1.52 on the peloton with 30.7kms and one final climb to go.
Garmin Sharp's Ryder Hesjedal caught Taborre with 25kms to go and went off the front, whilst Astana with Vincenzo Nibali attempted to close him down. The Canadian decided not to go for broke and was caught 1.3kms later.
Visconti sneaked off to take the second King Of The Mounain points before Wiggins group could only watch Hesjedal, Paolini and Arnoli of Astana go away with 16kms remaining and on what was a very technical descent, which saw the peloton blown apart before Betancur crashed.
Katusha's Luca Paolini attacked with 6.3kms to go as the race favourites kept their eye on each other.
Paolini took a nine second lead whilst behind him, Michele Scarponi was one of three riders in the chasing group who crashed on a hairpin turn.
Under the flam rought, Paolini was still away and win in a time of 5.43.50. Cadel Evans picked up the twelve seconds for second place with Hesjedal third. Bradley Wiggins was eighth.
Paolini, who admitted that he was absolutely thrilled to have won, was nineteen seconds down going into the stage but his win and the time bonus goes into the Maglia Rosa leaders jersey some seventeen seconds ahead of Sir Bradley Wiggins.