With Ben Swift in their ranks, Team Sky was one of the teams that was expected to assist in the chase of the early break in the 13th stage of the Giro d'Italia. However, they waited until the final 5km to hit the front, having been forced to wait for their GC captain Kantstantsin Siutsou who needed an untimely bike change.

Ben Swift bagged his fourth top-10 finish of the 2014 Giro d’Italia, but stage 13 belonged to the breakaway riders who battled it out for a surprise victory in Rivarolo Canavese.

Swift sprinted home in eighth position, 11 seconds behind the triumphant Marco Canola, who had formed part of the three-man escape group who evaded their pursuers before going toe-to-toe in a flat-out finish.

Canola (Bardiani-CSF) led out the sprint after rounding the final corner in first position and then pressed home his advantage to seal a narrow triumph over Jackson Rodriguez (Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela) and Angelo Tulik (Europcar).

The trio had been out front since the start of the day and worked productively after shedding their three former accomplices 17km from home.

Swift was well protected throughout the stage, but with no dedicated lead-out train, Team Sky were dependent on other teams bringing the front-runners back if he was to stand any chance of victory.

FDJ, Giant-Shimano and Trek Factory Racing had all been expected to head the chase, but with no one willing to take control in the closing stages, the victory ultimately slipped from their grasp.

Pre-stage favourite Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ) led the peloton home in fourth position, with Swift less than a metre behind as the sprinters fanned out across the finish line.

Back on the bus, Sports Director Dario Cioni admitted it had been a missed opportunity for the sprint teams before detailing why Team Sky had opted not to influence proceedings.

"Everyone expected a sprint - ourselves included - but because Ben's still suffering a bit from his crash, we didn't want to fully commit to the bringing the break back, especially as we thought other teams would have taken control.

"Kosta needed a bike change at the start of the final circuit which meant we couldn't pull until he'd got back in the bunch, and once that happened it was too late to really have an impact.

"I think everyone underestimated that break. The stage was a relatively short one and the escapees will have been fresh after the time trial yesterday. The hailstorm which happened 30km from home also played a part as the slippery conditions meant the peloton were reluctant to take risks during that 5km section.

"Fair play to the break though, they were really strong out there."

Saturday's stage sees the riders return to the mountains with three categorised climbs to overcome before another tough ascent to the finish. Cioni revealed Team Sky would try and get in the mix as they remain on the hunt for a stage victory.

He added: "Our climbers are all feeling good and they'll be ready to go again tomorrow after two relatively straightforward stages. There's a good chance the breakaway could stay clear again so we'll definitely monitor the situation there and hope the right move is allowed to go.

"If it all comes back together, we've got guys like Kosta, Dario, Sebastian and Philip who are more than capable in those conditions, and we'd love to get that stage win which has eluded us so far."