Przemyslaw Niemiec entered the Giro d'Italia with the intention to fight for the podium but a crash put him out of GC contention. Having recovered from his injuries, he tried to bounce back in the big way by launching a long-distance attack in the queen stage.

After finishing 6th in last year's race, Przemyslaw Niemiec had hoped that he could improve on that performance in the 2014 Giro d'Italia. Like so many others, however, he was taken out of contention when he crashed in the wet conditions on the roads to Montecassino.

Since then, Niemiec has been a rather anonymous presence in the race but today he tried to bounce back by launching a big move in the queen stage. The Pole attacked on the descent from the Gavia and was part of a very strong group that also included the likes of Franco Pellizotti and Robert Kiserlovski.

Unfortunately, Tinkoff-Saxo upped the pace on Stelvio and brought most of the break back before the top of the climb.

"When I had to give up my GC ambitions, I decided to try to join a break," he said. "I succeeded today in what was perhaps the hardest stage due to both the weather and the profile. It was hard to set a good pace on the Stelvio and behind they were going fast so our attack failed."

Instead, his teammate Winner Anacona who had been suffering from stomach problems earlier in the race, took over the task of defending Lampre-Merida. The Colombian proved that he is back at full health by finishing 16th and hang onto the favourites for a long time.

" Today I felt good and my legs responded well despite the extreme cold," he said. "With determination, I managed to stay with the group of the GC riders and this is a good sign. On the climb to Valmartello, I tried to stay in the maglia rosa group as best I could but finally I had to give up."