Vini Fantini - Sella Italia's Mauro Santambrogio may have won today's weather-shortened stage at the Giro d'Italia but the true winner of the day was Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) who expanded his lead in the overall classification even though he clearly refrained from sprinting for victory at the finish line.

"It was a very difficult stage today, it really is extremely cold up here," Nibali told Gazzetta dello Sport after the summit finish at the Monte Jafferau. "The Giro is still very long but there's no denying that today was a good day. I always feel good in the rain and the cold and today I tried to profit from the weather conditions. When I went on the attack, I saw that Mauro reacted swiftly and once the two of us had broken clear, I only thought about gaining as much time as possible. My only regret of the day concerns [teammate] Vanotti, who crashed and had to abandon. At first it appeared to be very serious but the latest information that I have suggests it was only a great blow."

Nibali expanded his overall lead with his late attack and now leads Cadel Evans (BMC) by 1' 26".