2012 Giro del Trentino, Stage 4 (Final)

Colombian Darwin Atapuma won the final stage, stage 4, of the 2012 Giro del Trentino giving his Colombia Coldeportes team their first European victory.

Domenico Pozzovivo (Colnago-CSF), yesterday’s winner atop Punta Veleno and race leader, handled all his opponents’ attacks on the finishing climb of a snowy Passo Pordoi to win the race. Finishing 2nd and 3rd on the podium were Damiano Cunego (Lampre - ISD) and Sylvester Szmyd (Liquigas-Cannondale).

"I grew up following Herrera’s great wins at the Tour de France," said Atapuma. "It's a dream to win on such a climb. I can guess how happy they are in Colombia right now. I came from a farmers’ family, so I know what fatigue is about. It’s an amazing result, as it’s also the first ever for my team, and I want to dedicate it to our manager Claudio Corti, because he made this great project possible."

Pozzovivo said,  "It was very cold, for sure but my legs were good so I knew I wasn’t going to blow this chance. It’s a great win for me, and also brings our team to a higher level as a whole. Colnago-CSF’s outfit is young but very ambitious, we showed we can hold our own even in team time trials, and we got a very strong sprinter like Modolo. I am sure we are a very strong team, and this win will help us to increase our confidence."

Damiano Cunego looked very good in the race and is looking forward to Sunday's Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Ivan Basso (22nd place) improved day by day but last year’s race winner Michele Scaproni (44th) and Danilo Di Luca (42nd) were not among the strongest men in the race.

Top 10 stage results:
1 Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) Colombia - Coldeportes 4:37:03
2 Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) Acqua & Sapone 0:00:03
3 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox 0:00:06
4 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:00:17
5 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD
6 José Rujano Guillen (Ven) Androni Giocattoli 0:00:21
7 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:30
8 Kevin Seeldraeyers (Bel) Pro Team Astana 0:01:06
9 Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez (Col) Androni Giocattoli 0:01:20
10 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar 0:01:27

Top 10 GC:
1) Pozzovivo Domenico (Colnago CSF), km 506,60 in 12:57'47, average speed 39.069 km/h;
2) Cunego Damiano (Lampre ISD) +0:40;
3) Szmyd Sylvester (Liquigas Cannondale) +1:04;
4) Betancur Carlos Alberto (Acqua & Sapone) +1:42;
5) Rujano José (Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela) +2:07;
6) Kreuziger Roman (Astana Pro Team) +2:33;
7) Dupont Hubert (AG2R La Mondiale) + 2:34;
8) Atapuma Darwin (Colombia-Coldeportes) +3:55;
9) Pinotti Marco (BMC Racing Team) +4:01;
10) Frank Mathias (BMC Racing Team) +4:05.


Stage 4 highlights:



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