In a close sprint decision after 199.8 km from Pontedera to Arezzo Mattia Gavazzi defeated Ivan Rovny (Flaminia Fondriest) and Taylor Phinney (BMC) to win the Giro di Toscana, showing excellent form prior to the Giro d’Italia which starts next Saturday in Naples.

Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport after his win, Gavazzi said, “My last leadout man was Giairo Ermeti but unfortunately his move was anticipated and I was forced to make a long distance sprint. But I’m in good shape at the moment and when the finish goes slightly uphill as today, I may hold a slight advantage. With regards to the Giro d’Italia I have two objectives: To win a stage and to make it to the finish in Brescia on the last stage of the race.”

Top 10 result:

1. Mattia Gavazzi (Androni Venezuela)
2. Ivan Rovny (Flaminia Fondriest)
3. Taylor Phinney (BMC)
4. Matej Mugerli (Adria Mobil)
5. Miguel Ángel Rubiano (Androni Venezuela)
6. Danilo Di Luca (Vini Fantini Selle Italia)
7. Sergey Klimov (RusVelo)
8. Enrico Battaglin (Bardiani CSF)
9. Federico Rocchetti (Utensilnord)
10. Marco Zamparella (Utensilnord)