Marco Canola did what everybody had thought impossible: held off the sprinters to win today's thirteenth stage of the Giro d'Italia. Having clearly proved to be the strongest, the Italian quickly realized his superiority and knew that he would have a good chance if the break stayed away.

All was set for a big sprint festival in todays stage 13 of the Giro d'Italia but a lack of cooperation among the sprint teams and an impressive Marco Canola changed the script. Clearly the strongest of the original 6-rider breakaway, Canola was justly rewarded by taking a surprise win.

Already on the day's only categorized climb, Canola had to slow down to wait for his companions and later it was his attack that whittled the group down to just three riders. He later tried to get clear on his own but when they passed the flamme rouge, he still had Jackson Rodriguez and Angelo Tulik for company.

Everybody knew that it would be of utmost importance to enter the final turn in the front position and Canola again proved his strength when he won the battle against Rodriguez. Finally, he launched a long sprint that allowed him to take the biggest victory of his short career.

”Its’ incredible, a fantastic emotion," he said. "First of all I want to thank my team anddedicate the win to my family and the sponsor. This morning during the team meeting I was really focused on getting into the break.

"Kilometer after kilometer I started to feel better and in the finale I understood that I was stronger than the others. With a first attack I gave new impetus to the group and from that moment I started to believe in our chances, also because I was told from the radio that the gap was always 1:30.

"I remembered the finishing straight and I knew that was important to be in front in the final turn. I did it, I started a long sprint and took the win. Super!

“I knew there was a hailstorm ahead of us although, with 60 km or more to go, I don’t think any of us in the breakaway believed very much. But the route was rolling, even if it didn’t look like it on paper, and there were lots of curves. I really committed myself to it, and the others followed, And, in the end, I was right.

“There is no such thing as unfavourable conditions, there are only people who give up, and in this team, we never give up! It’s good that we can’t see the future. If everything went the way we expected, there’d be no surprises. That’s why you have to stick at it. Today you could say I was lucky, but on other days I’ve had bad luck. But you have to go for it - that’s the rule of cycling.

“As an U23 rider, I lost many important races after being caught in the final 300m. I’m a strong rouleur and i have a pretty good sprint, but it’s not easy to emerge in this sport.

"I was a a promising rider as a junior: I had 7 wins, I rode for the national team, and I achieved good things. That continued into my first year at under-23 level.

"Then, in my 2nd year of under-23, I had some problems. My father died after illness. But with good people around me, I came through it, and I learned that it isn’t just the result  that counts, it is the memory you leave behind of who you are.”

”Marco made a stunning race," sports director Mirko Rossato said. "He believed in his chances more than the other escapees and he deserved this victory. This finale shows that cycling is an unpredictable sport. Today all said that it was for sprinters. Instead we twisted it all and won from a breakaway."

”It is great for Marco," sports director Roberto Reverberi added. "He is a team rider who is always avalaible to his teammates. Today he made an incredibile performance and gave us a big victory."