Farrar takes Giro win number two

Giro d'Italia 2010, stage 10 photo gallery by Graham Watson>>

Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions) came out on top for a second time in the 2010 Giro d'Italia by storming the bunch sprint at the end of Tuesday's stage 10.

Farrar increased his lead in the red sprinters' jersey competition by beating Fabio Sabatini (Liquigas) to the line in what was a relatively uneventful stage 10 between Avallino and Bitonto. Astana's Alexandre Vinokourov retained the pink leader's jersey, 1-12 ahead of BMC's Cadel Evans, having an easy day in the sunshine along with the rest of the bunch after a week of hard racing and poor weather.

The peloton was content to let an early break consisting of Hubert Dupont (Ag2r), Dario Cataldo (Quick Step) and Britain's Charly Wegelius (Omega Pharma-Lotto) have some TV airtime before the sprinters' teams decided enough was enough and reeled them in.

Team Sky were very active in driving the pace of the bunch 3km from the finish in Bitonto, but the squad appeared to be swamped by Garmin, HTC-Columbia and Liquigas in the finale.

If the stage was uneventful, the run-in to the line certainly wasn't. Tight bends in the last few hundred metres kept everyone on their toes, and a late surge by Quick Step's Matteo Tosatto looked like it might stick while the rest of the peloton tried to stay upright.

But Tosatto was soon swallowed up by a fast-finishing Julian Dean - Farrar's lead-out man who, like Tosatto, looked like he might take the win himself with the gap he unwittingly made for himself in those final twists and turns.

Farrar, however, timed things perfectly, sweeping past his Kiwi team-mate, who held on for third behind Sabatini.

"I had complete faith in my team," a delighted Farrar said at the finish. "And it was Julian who did the work - not me. He was amazing.

"As I was coming off Dean's wheel, I could see Sabatini coming, so I hit the gas," continued the American.

He may so far be the king of the sprints at this Giro, but he's got a little way to go if he wants to match the 42 wins that his hero, Italian sprinter Mario Cipollini, achieved at the race.

"Cipollini is my idol," smiled Farrar. "I hope to one day reach the number of wins that he's taken."

This victory means that Farrar increases his hold on the red sprinters' jersey, and now looks a very real threat to the likes of Mark Cavendish and Thor Hushovd's green-jersey dreams at the Tour de France in July.

Read our live coverage of Giro d'Italia stage 10 as it happened>>

RESULTS

Giro d'Italia 2010, stage 10: Avellino to Bitonto, 230km

1. Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Transitions

2. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas

3. Julian Dean (NZ) Garmin-Transitions

4. Robbie McEwen (Aus) Katusha

5. Robert Forster (Ger) Team Milram

6. Sebastien Hinault (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale

7. Andre Greipel (Ger) HTC-Columbia

8. Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre-Farnese Vini

9. Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis all same time

10. Mathew Hayman (Aus) Team Sky at 3secs

Other

16. Adam Blythe (GB) Omega Pharma-Lotto at 3secs

Overall classification after stage 10

1. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana

2. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team at 1-12

3. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo at 1-33

4. Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo at 1-51

5. Marco Pinotti (Ita) HTC-Columbia at 2-17

6. Richie Porte (Aus) Saxo Bank at 2-26

7. Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Katusha at 2-34

8. Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone at 2-47

9. Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini at 3-08

10. Michele Scarponi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli at 3-09

Other

22. Carlos Sastre (Spa) Cervelo Test Team at 9-59

24. Bradley Wiggins (GB) Team Sky at 10-54

Tyler Farrar celebrates his second 2010 Giro win

Related links

Giro d'Italia 2010: Cycling Weekly's coverage index

2010 Giro d'Italia coverage in association with Zipvit