ALPE DE PAMPEAGO, Italy, May 24, 2008 (AFP) – Italian mountain specialist
Emanuele Sella came home alone to win in the 14th stage of the Tour of Italy
on the Alpe de Pampeago summit on Saturday.

The first day in the Dolomites produced a new leader with Italy’s Gabriele
Bosisio inheriting Giovanni Visconti’s pink jersey.

Sella crossed the line over four minutes in front of Belarus rider Vasik
Kiryienka and more than five minutes in front of Spanish champion Joaquim
Rodriguez.

The first three to finish were part of a 13-strong group that slipped the
peloton as early as the 13th kilometer in this 195km run.

Sella made his move 50km out on the Manghen pass.

The pink jersey contenders including Astana’s Alberto Contador and
Germany’s Andreas Kloden waited until the last three and a half kilometres on
the stiffest portion of the final 1740m climb to play their hands.

Saturday’s result was compensation for Sella who had been robbed of a
possible win in the seventh stage at Pescocostanzo due to a puncture.

This was the 26-year-olds second success in the Giro, four years after he
took a stage at Cesena.

Bosisio, the winner of this year’s stage at Pescocostanzo, has taken
charge of the pink jersey for the first time in this years Giro.

He leads Alberto Contador of Astana in the overall standings by five seconds with a 28sec gap
back to third-placed Marzio Bruseghin.

Riccardo Ricco lies fourth, 1min02sec adrift, followed by defending
champion Daniele Di Luca (at 1:07), Kloden (1:11) and Russian Denis Menchov
(7th at 1:18).

Sunday is the Giro’s centerpiece 15thy stage, a 153km run between Arabba
and the Fedaia summit with no fewer than six climbs to be negotiated.