Fabio Taborre (Vini Fantini) impressed most of the cycling world with a very strong solo attack in the final part of yesterday's third stage of the Giro d'Italia but he ended up being swallowed on the lower slopes of the day's final climb. The main reason for the lack of success was the early work from Team Sky in the peloton and Vini Fantini manager Luca Scinto did not understand anything of the Sky tactics.
Fabio Taborre was one of yesterday's stars. Having joined an early 7-man move he escaped on his own in the final part of the race and managed to stay ahead of the race until the final climb where he was swallowed up just as defending champions Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) went on the attack.
With no clear favourite for the stage it was unclear who had to chase down the move but the Sky team of race leader Salvatore Puccio chose to set a steady tempo to keep the break in check until Omega Pharma-Quick Step decided to chase in an attempt to set up Mark Cavendish for the win. The work of the British team came as somewhat of a surprise as many had expected the team to gladly give up Salvatore Puccio's leader's jersey in an attempt to save as much energy for later in the race as possible.
Vini Fantini manager was highly critical of the Sky tactics as Taborre could have found himself in the overall lead had he managed to stay away.
"Had it not been for Sky, we would have been celebrating a milestone and a beautiful jersey which we would have defended at least until the time trial in Saltara," he said. "I have not just figured out why Sky chose this tactic, but that's cycling and we will attack again tomorrow."
The team still managed to be a key protagonist in the final part of the race as the team's leader Mauro Santambrogio was one of the most offensive riders on the final descent and he showed great strength when he managed to close a big gap to a dangerous group containing the likes of Wiggins, Nibali and Hesjedal on the final climb. In the end he sprinted to fourth as part of the group of favourites that arrived at the finish 16 seconds later than winner Luca Paolini (Katusha).
The team hopes to get its revenge in today's hard fourth stage. With a long, gradual category 2 ascent in the final part Santambrogio appears to be one of the favourites as he is both a strong climber and has a very fast sprint.
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