Philippe Gilbert was ninth for the BMC Racing Team Wednesday on a rainy stage of the Giro d'Italia that finished on the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari motor racing track.

Gilbert and earlier, nearly the entirety of the BMC Racing Team, was chasing a breakaway group in the second half of the 153-kilometer race. Ilnur Zakarin (Team Katusha) soloed out of the escape group to take the victory 53 seconds ahead of six remaining chasers. Gilbert and Maciej Paterski (CCC Sprandi Polkowice) sprinted for eighth, five seconds later.

BMC Racing Team's Stefan Küng had earlier tried to bridge across to the breakaway as the race reached three laps of a finishing circuit. But the solo winner of a stage of the Tour de Romandie and the Volta Limburg Classic was only able to close to within 40 seconds.

"It is always good when you have a few guys who can join you," Küng said. "I made the descent and I was alone and they (the sport directors) said to keep going. The other guys had to work from behind, so our leaders were able to sit up a bit. On this lap, it was very hard when you were alone. You had to keep pushing all the time."