Joaquim Rodriguez powered to victory on stage 10 at the Giro d'Italia to move into the leader's pink jersey in Assisi.
The Spaniard (Katusha) timed his attacked to perfection and kicked clear on the steep, narrow streets into the finish to win by two seconds over Bartosz Huzarski (NetApp).
Giovanni Visconti (Movistar) rounded out the podium but despite finishing the day in fifth, Ryder Hesjedal was forced to relinquish the maglia rosa as bonus seconds elevated Rodriguez into a 17-second lead.
The finish took place in spectacular surroundings with positioning vital heading along a finishing straight barely wide enough for two riders.
Team Sky had been prominent on the lead-up to the climb to place Colombian duo Rigoberto Urán and Sergio Henao into the mix, 10th on the day moving Urán into the top 10 overall for the British squad.
Italian spectacle
Five men chipped clear early on to form the break as the riders departed Civitavecchia, yet were dismayed to find they were only ever allowed a maximum advantage of a shade under five minutes.
Chasing hard on the front were Katusha, a statement of intent from the team which had leader Rodriguez enter the stage just nine seconds off the race lead.
The pace was uneven throughout the day, allowing the bunch to stay together until the foot of the steep final climb and Mark Cavendish (Team Sky) to move one point closer to the points jersey, now just three adrift of rival Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEDGE).
In scenes reminiscent of a bunch sprint teams put together lead-out trains to position their contenders well ahead of the steep climb into the town.
Urán put in the most significant attack with two kilometres remaining over the top and down onto the brief descent, with fellow GC contender John Gadret (AG2R La Mondiale) in his wheel.
Yet the move was quickly shut down and it was left to Rodriguez to prove just why he was such a heavy favourite heading in to the day's stage.
