TROPEA, Italy (AP) — Oscar Gatto had to fight off a late charge from race favorite Alberto Contador to win the eighth stage of the Giro d'Italia on Saturday.
Gatto attacked on the final climb to the finish and only Contador broke from the pack to chase him.
"I'm a sprinter, but I've always liked finishes like this, slightly uphill and technically difficult," Gatto said. "I looked around once but didn't see anyone. Then when I looked again, I saw it was a Saxo Bank and thought, 'I wonder if it's Contador'."
"I was slightly worried because I knew I didn't have much left for an eventual sprint. But when I checked one last time near the line, I knew I'd got it and began celebrating."
The pair finished the 217-kilometer (134.5-mile) stage that began in Sapri in 4 hours, 59 minutes, 45 seconds, while Alessandro Petacchi led home the chasing pack to finish five seconds behind in third.
Dutchman Pieter Weening retained the pink jersey for the third consecutive day. He leads with 28 hours, 9 minutes, 49 seconds after he finished among the chasing group.
"Today for me and the team it was simple, only the finish was going to be hard," Weening said. "There were a lot of climbers and I had to be in the front because there could have been a lot of time gaps."
Contador's second place finish lifts him to fifth overall, 13 seconds behind Weening.
"First of all, I want to acknowledge the great work done by my team which kept me in contention until the very end and, because of this, I was able to take a few seconds (off)," Contador said. "It was a dangerous finish so we knew we had to be aware."
Mirko Selvaggi and Leonardo Giordani went on the attack after two kilometers and opened up a lead of 10 minutes, 50 seconds.
The pair held their advantage until 7.5 kilometers from the finish when the sprinters in the peloton finally hauled them in after good work by the Quick Step and HTC-Highroad teams.
Gatto shot from the pack with 2.5 kilometers remaining and even Contador's best efforts were not enough to stop him.
The Giro continues on Sunday with a 169-kilometer (104.7-mile) mountain stage from Messina to Etna. The 21-stage Giro finishes in Milan on May 29.
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