Joaoquin Rodriquez won the fifth stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico.
Sunday's stage five saw 168 riders start the 230km stage from Ortona to Chieti.
Nine riders in Valerio Agnoli (Astana), Michael Schär (BMC), Maxim Belkov (Katusha), Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida), Sebastian Langeveld (Orica Greenedge), Stijn Devolder (Radioshack-Leopard), Juan Antonio Flecha (Vacansoleil-DCM), Cesare Benedetti (NetApp-Endura) and Oscar Gatto (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) formed the day's escape after 20kms and Damiano Cunego was still in front with 20kms to go have taken most of the points for the Forchetta di Paletta climb and Passo Lanciano clumb.
Cunego was pulled by the peloton containing race leader Chris Froome and with six kilometres to go, he was swept up.
The final climb of the day came with 1500ms to go and saw a sharp climb up up Via Salomone in Chieti. Nobody apart from Katusha's Joaquim Rodriguez wanted to win and he took the day's spoils with a victory in a time of 6.06.43.
Bauke Mollema was second with Alberto Contador third.
Chris Froome, who said that tough did not even describe the stage, came in sixth which was enough to put him in the Maglia Azzuria,some twenty seconds ahead of Contador.