Roberto Ferrari found himself in the ideal position for the sprint in yesterday's final stage of the Giro d'Italia  and the Lampre-Merida rider was the one to first launch his sprint. At the end of three weeks of racing, however, he lacked the freshness to finish it off and had to settle for fifth.

Roberto Ferrari has been sprinting consistently well in the Giro d'Italia - a fact which is underlined by his third place in the points competition - but going into the final stage, a fourth place was his best result. As the sprinters battled for position in Trieste, however, he found himself with a golden opportunity to win the most prestigious spring battle of them all.

Ferrari had positioned himself on the wheel of Sebastien Chavanel who hit the front to lead out Nacer Bouhanni. The Italian was the first to launch his sprint and couldn't find himself in a better spot as he roared towards the line. In the end, however, he stared to fade and rolled across the line in 5th.

"It is a shame to miss the podium or the win," he said. "The situation waas very good. The whole team worked during the entire stage and Mori again brought me into position near the front. The I found the right wheel, that of Chavanel who was working for Bouhanni.

"At 300 meters to go, I started the sprint, but after a few pedal strokes, I no longer had the power to fight for the win. At the end of three demanding weeks, it can happen that your legs no longer have the necessary freshness. I thank the whole team for their efforts to help me in the sprint."