Ivan Parra of Colombia won his second straight stage in the Giro d'Italia on Sunday, taking the top spot in the one of the race's toughest finishes.
Parra broke away from the field in the 14th stage -- as he did Saturday at Ortisei -- and won after climbing the 2,758m Stelvio pass in the Alps, the Giro's tallest peak.
He completed the 210km route from Egna to Livigno in 6 hours, 46 minutes, 33 seconds.
Paolo Savoldelli retained the overall leader's pink jersey after crossing the line nearly four minutes behind Parra.
Danilo Di Luca closed within 25 seconds on Savoldelli, while third-place Gilberto Simoni is 1:48 behind.
"I'm doing better than expected," Savoldelli said. "I lost some ground to Simoni and De Luca on Foscagno because I had some cramps. I'm not thinking of the Giro title. There are many tough stages to go and Simoni is a strong rival."
Tadej Valjavec of Slovenia finished second in the stage, ahead of Jose Rujano Guillen. Both ended up 1:50 behind the Colombian stage winner.
Parra, who was without a team until March when Selle Italia offered him a job, collected his sixth career victory as a professional with the same tactics of the previous day -- a breakaway with few other cyclists in the initial kilometers and a solo attempt close to the finish.
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