German Robert Forster of Gerolsteiner sprinted to victory in the fifth stage of the Tour of Italy in Frascati on Thursday.
Italian Danilo Di Luca of Liquigas, the 2005 Pro Tour champion, retained the overall leader's pink jersey.
Forster clocked 4hr 17min 02sec to beat home Norway's Thor Hushovd and Italian Alessandro Petacchi at the end of the 173km stage over mainly flat countryside.
Mikhail Ignatiev led an early breakaway that lasted 138km, all but the final 20km of which was spent alongside Frenchman Mickael Buffaz, but the peloton hunted the Russian down in the final stretch.
For Forster, 29, the stage win was his second in the Giro after winning last year's final stage in a sprint in Milan. He has also won a stage in the Tour of Spain.
"I won because I was the strongest today, not just because I took some risks," Forster said.
"The final stretch completely shook up the sprinters' teams. It's normal — there were a lot of sprinters who wanted to win. Personally, I wanted a little chat with Danilo Napolitano, who trapped me up against the railings," he said.
"The most important thing for me is to have the legs. The road can be straight or have bends, it doesn't matter much to me. Last year in Milan, that was my first great success. This time around, the competition is higher. I feel as if I've made progress." Forster said.
Petacchi, who won the third stage on Monday, lamented the fact that there was not a clear run-in to the finish line.
"We were traveling at 60kph over the final kilometer and there was an 'S' bend," he blasted.
"I don't understand why they couldn't find a straight 500m," Petacchi said.
Di Luca also fired a rebuke at race organizers.
"A final stretch going downhill until the last kilometer? That's quite dangerous," he said. "I didn't stay at the front because I didn't want to take any risks. I had said I was ready to cede the pink jersey."
"But a breakaway went from the start and then there are teams of sprinters who worked. For us, we only had to stay in the saddle. But the next stage will be different. There'll surely be a breakaway but given the course it will probably go to the finish," Di Luca said.
Yesterday riders were to tackle a 177km sixth stage from Tivoli to Spolete, crossing the Terminillo mountains.
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