Italian cyclist Leonardo Piepoli has won the 10th stage of the Tour of Italy, while his compatriot Andrea Noe claimed the overall leader's pink jersey.
Piepoli rode clear of the others at the front, about halfway up the steep 8.8 - kilometer climb, and held on for victory. He completed Tuesday's 250-kilometer mountainous course in 6:19:07 for his third career stage win in the event. Last year he won the 13th and 17th stages.
Another Italian, Danilo Di Luca was second, 18 seconds back, followed by Andy Schleck of Luxembourg who trailed by 27 seconds. Two-time champion Gilberto Simoni of Italy was fourth, 32 seconds off the lead.
The overall leader Andrea Noe is the oldest competitor in this year's field at age 38 and last held the Tour of Italy lead in 1998, when he had it for one stage. He has a 1:08 advantage over fellow-Italian Marzio Bruseghin.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
