Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) showed amazing strength on the steep slopes of the Sega di Ala climb in the final stage of the Giro del Trentino and soloed off to take a convincing stage win. Behind Maxime Bouet (Ag2r) fought valiantly to keep his overall lead but had to settle for third as Nibali took home his second big stage race victory of the season.

Vincenzo Nibali marked himself out as a major favourite for next month's Giro d'Italia and Sunday's Liege-Bastogne-Liege as he crushed the opposition on the final climb in today's decisive Giro del Trentino stage. Having dropped companion Mauro Santambrogio (Vini Fantini) with 3km to go on the steep Sega di Ala climb, he kept his chasers at bay and took a hugely convincing overall victory.

His intentions had been made clear at the bottom of the day's final ascent as his Astana troops were immediately sent to the front to set a hard tempo on the lower slopes. After Tanel Kangert had set a blistering pace, yesterday's runner-up Paolo Tiralongo took up the pace-making and the veteran Italian was immensely strong, reducing the group to a very select few.

Tiralongo, Nibali, Fabio Aru (Astana), Mauro Santambrogio (Vini Fantini), Przemyslaw Niemiec (Lampre), Bradley Wiggins (Sky), Stefan Locatello (Bardiani), Cadel Evans (BMC) and Marcos Garcia (Caja Rural) were the only riders left in the front group when disaster struck for Wiggins. A mechanical forced the reigning Tour de France champion to stop and clearly frustrated he threw his bike away. A quick change sent him back into the race but he faced a ard chase to get back on.

Meanwhile, Tiralongo continued to set a hard pace which was too much for Garcia who dropped off. As Tiralongo had finally emptied the tank, captain Nibali accelerated off the front and for a moment he was alone in the front,

However, Santambrogio was in no mood to give up and he fought back to the Tirreno-Adriatico winner to set up a strong duo which was chased by Evans, Niemiec and Aru. A little further back, Wiggins had not been able to keep up the pace and while he had been close to get back in contention at some point, he was now losing ground to the best riders.

Nibali and Santambrogio shared the pace-setting duties until "the Shark of Messina" had had enough of the Vini Fantini captain's company and dropped him on a steep portion of the climb. The rest of the stage evolved into a pursuit between the two strong climbers but there was never any doubt that Nibali would come out victorious.

Instead, the attention was turned to the battle for the overall win as Maxime Bouet (Ag2r) was fighting hard further back to keep his leader's jersey. With 2nd placed overall Kanstantsin Siutsou in his wheel, he fought desperately to minimize his losses and take home his biggest career victory.

As Nibali had crossed the finish line, the clock started to tick and despite the Frenchman's best efforts he lost his lead. Instead he took third 55 seconds behind Nibali while Santambrogio was 2nd.

The victory was Nibali's second in a big Italian stage race after his win in the Tirreno-Adriatico earlier this season and he is now marked out as a hugely dangerous man with just two weeks to go to the start of the Giro d'Italia.

A strong break means a fast stage

The 166,8km stage from Arco to Sega di Ala was always set to be a fantastic showdown between the race's best climber. The 11,5km climb had steep portions with 20% gradients and there was no doubt that the organizers had saved the hardest battle for the last day.

The stage started with the Passo san Udalrico climb and on the moderate slopes a very strong 10-rider group managed to break clear. Jose Serpa (Lampre), Cyril Gautier (Europcar), Emanuele Sella (Androni), Edoardo Zardini (Bardiani), Francesco Bongiorno (Bardiani), Jarlinson Pantano (Colombia), Amets Txurruka (Caja Rural), Mateusz Taciak (CCC), Bartosz Huzarski (NetApp-Endura) and Manuel Amaro (Ceramica Flaminia) managed to build up a gap of 3 minutes.

However, Vini Fantini had their sights set on the stage win and they upped the pace to stabilize the gap. Along the way, Sky also chipped in and the break did not seem to have much of a chance.

The break splits up

On the day's penultimate climb the break split up as Serpa, Bongiorno, Pantano and Txurruka dropped their companions. Huzarski and Taciak regained contact and near the top Zardiani was also back in contention. Meanwhile, Sella, Gautier and Amaro were all caught by the peloton.

On the long, flat run-in to the bottom of the final climb, Vini Fantini set a blistering tempo with veteran Stefano Garzelli doing a huge amount of work. This brought the gap down and as the break started the ascent, they were only 30 seconds ahead of the group.

Astana ups the pace

As soon as the break hit the lower slopes, Zardiani was dropped and a few moments later the same happened to Taciak and Pantano. Behind Kangert had zipped down the jersey and plugged away at the front of the peloton as he picked up the dropped riders from the break.

Serpa tried one last effort and dropped his companions but it was all in vain and with 9km to go the Colombian was the last escapee to be picked up. Meanwhile, Wiggins was seen at the back of the peloton but he seemed to be pedalling smoothly and had no problems moving up.

However, his bad positioning nearly proved costly. When Kangert had finished his work, Tiralongo upped the tempo which put Bouet and Siutsou into difficulty. The veteran Italian was so strong that for a moment he drew Nibali clear to form a strong Astana duo ahead of the race. Santambrogio closed the gap with Evans and Locatelli but Wiggins was caught behind and had to pass plenty of struggling riders before he regained contact with Niemiec, Pirazzi, Aru and Garcia in tow.

Moments later, disaster struck as the Brit had to stop to change his bikes which started the dramatic final in which Nibali came out victorious.

Result:

1. Vincenzo Nibali

2. Mauro Santambrogio +0.08

3. Przemyslaw Niemiec +0.44

4. Fabio Aru

5. Cadel Evans +1.02

6. Stefano Locatelli +1.10

7. Stefano Pirazzi +1.35

8. Marcos Garcia +1.37

9. Bradley Wiggins +1.39

10. Pierre Rolland +2.20

Final general classification:

1. Vincenzo Nibali 17.49.11

2. Mauro Santambrogio +0.21

3. Maxime Bouet +0.55

4. Fabio Aru +1.16

5. Bradley Wiggins +1.40

6. Przemyslaw Niemiec +1.45

7. Stefano Pirazzi +2.15

8. Cadel Evans +2.18

9. Stefano Locatelli +3.05

10. Pierre Rolland +3.22