Cadel Evans of BMC sprinted to second place on Monday's stage of the Giro d'Italia, earning a 12 second time bonus that moved him from 60th to 12th in the overall standings.

On a day when attacks came on both the climbs and the descents, Evans – with final help coming from teammate Ivan Santaromita – was able to follow all but the escape of stage winner Luca Paolini (Katusha). Paolini attacked on the twisting downhill at the end of the 222 km race to win by 16 seconds and move into the overall lead. Evans led a select group of 16 riders home that included nearly all of the overall contenders. He is now 42 seconds off the lead after conceding 37 seconds in Sunday's team time trial.

"A small time bonus may not make a difference at the end of the Giro but it doesn't hurt for sure," the 2011 Tour de France winner said. "Most of all, it's a little bit of encouragement for everyone on the team."

BMC Racing Team Assistant Director Fabio Baldato said good knowledge of the course came into play. "We knew every corner of the final descent and spent 30 minutes studying it in the pre-race meeting, so it was perfect," he said. "The guys did a great job, particularly Ivan, Steve Morabito and Danilo Wyss, who had a bit of a bad day yesterday."

Evans said he didn't expect the time gaps that would open up on the run-in to the finish. Only 30 riders finished within a minute of Paolini.

"I was just looking to avoid trouble like the problems Michele Scarponi had after the two Blanco riders crashed in front of him. Like everything that counts for the race, we prepare for it as best as we can."