Michele Scarponi (Lampre) was one of the most aggressive riders in the final part of today's 16th stage of the Giro d'Italia  as the Italian attacked his rivals both on the final ascent and descent. The moves proved successful as Mauro Santambrogio (Vini Fantini) dropped off and so both Scarponi and teammate Przemyslaw Niemiec moved up in the GC on a day where the latter finished 3rd.

After a number of tough days, the Lampre team has any reason to express growing confidence after the most recent stages of the Giro d'Italia. Having struggled in the cold on the Jafferau on Sunday, both team captain Michele Scarponi and Przemyslaw Niemiec bounced back on the Col du Galibier on Sunday where the former showed that he was back to his best by putting in a couple of cood accelerations while the latter escaped inside the final kilometer to finish 3rd.

Today the team could once again see the increasing level of the team's two GC riders as Scarponi showed his usual aggressiveness in the final part of the race while Niemiec once again escaped in the final part of the race to take another fine 3rd place. In a surprisingly tough and selective final, 4th-placed Mauro Santambrogio fell off and so the Italian-Polish duo is now 4th and 5th in the GC respectively.

Much had been expected from Scarponi after his impressive time trial but in the first two mountain stages the Italian disappointed. Hence, his attacks in today's stage were as much as sign of warning to his podium rivals as they were a real attempt to gain time.

"The rest day did not change the good feelings that I already had on Sunday so I wanted to show signs of the fact that I will fight to reach my goals," Scarponi said. "I tried to animate the race. On the climb I did no know that Santambrogio was in trouble, but I still picked up the pace. I moved up a spot. Nibali remains the master of the Giro and I concentrate on my attempt to get on the podium. The team has shown great consistence with the added bonus that we now have a strong GC pair with Niemiec and myself."

Niemiec took his second consecutive podium place by joining a late move by eventual winner Benat Intxausti (Movistar), Tanel Kangert (Astana) and Robert Gesink (Blanco). The latter fell off due to a mechanical and inside the final kilometer it was clear that the remaining trio would have to battle for the victory.

Niemiec tried a long sprint but had to settle for another 3rd place. Nonetheless, he was happy to once again be a protagonist in what turns out to be is best ever grand tour.

"I knew Intxausti was clearly the fastest," he said. "The only way to win was to anticipate him. For this reason I opened my sprint from far out but it did not work. Obviously I would have preferred to win, but a good result like today's also makes me happy, especially considering the fact that I gained a position in the overall standings. I've never been riding so well in a grand tour. The important thing for me is to stay focused. "

Niemiec and Scarponi will get an easier day tomorrow before the three decisive stages in the Dolomites will determine the final podium places. Starting at 1415 you can follow tomorrow's stage on CyclingQuotes.com/live.