Robert Gesink won the centenary edition of the Giro dell'Emilia in Italy.

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• Race Result

The Rabobank rider was too strong for Jakob Fuglsang and Thomas Lovkvist in a sprint finish at the end of the 198.2km race.

The race crossed the tough San Luca climb, which includes sections at 18%, five times in the last 40km and with two laps to go, Fuglsang, Lovkvist, Gesink and Alexander Vinokourov attacked and gained a 30 seconds lead over the chasing group.

Kazakhstan's Alexander Vinokourov lost contact with the leaders and eventually finished fifth behind Australia's new world champion Cadel Evans.

It was Gesink's first win since a crash forced him out of the Vuelta a Espana last month.