VIGGIANO, Italy — A powerful final burst from Diego Ulissi helped the Italian cyclist win the fifth stage of the Giro d'Italia Wednesday, while Australian rider Michael Matthews retained the overall leader's pink jersey. Ulissi came from behind with 150 meters to go to cross the line solo, with his arms raised high in celebration at the end of the 203-kilometer leg from Taranto to Viggiano. Australia's Cadel Evans was second, with Julian David Arredondo Moreno of Colombia third, both of them in a group which crossed a second behind Ulissi in the first uphill finish of this year's Giro. Weather again played a part, with wet and windy conditions, although there was sunshine on the five-kilometer climb to the finish. Matthews fought hard to stay near the front in the final kilometer and finished sixth. He will wear the pink jersey for a fourth day, a record for an Australian cyclist. The Orica-GreenEdge rider extended his lead to 14 seconds, with Dutchman Pieter Weening moving into second spot. Evans is third. There was an early break of 11 riders and the Orica-led peloton was happy to control the gap to an average of four minutes. There were several attempted breaks up front with 30km to go, but none stuck and the group was back together on the penultimate climb — the first ascent up to Viggiano — just before the slippery roads caused the first big crash of the day. Gianluca Brambilla attacked bravely on the descent, opening up a 30-second advantage, but Joaquin Rodriguez's Katusha team chased him down and he was caught on the final climb, setting up the scintillating finish. Wiggins leads in California Former Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins maintained the overall lead after the third stage of the Tour of California which was won by Australian Rohan Dennis Tuesday. Team Sky's Wiggins now has a 24-second overall lead on Dennis with five stages remaining in the race. Dennis, of Garmin-Sharp, powered his way through hot and mountainous conditions Tuesday to complete the 174-kilometer road course from San Jose, California, to Mount Diablo in four hours, 56 minutes and two seconds. Wiggins took the lead with about six kilometers to go but Dennis jumped clear of the pack in the final kilometer to take the victory in sweltering conditions. Wiggins finished the third stage in ninth place, 20 seconds adrift of Dennis. Portugal's Tiago Machado was second in the stage which finished with a seven-kilometer climb up Mount Diablo. American Lawson Craddock was third, two seconds behind Machado and eight seconds back of the leader. Dennis is second overall, 24 seconds behind Wiggins while Machado is third, 65 seconds back. — Agencies
