Italian Filippo Pozzato ended the disrupted Giro di Grosseto as overall winner, despite finishing third in what proved to be the second and final stage.

Following the annulment of the second stage due to a unified rider protest amid safety concerns, Pozzato's countryman Danilo Napolitano of the Lampre team finished first with a time of four hours and 29 minutes.

He out-sprinted the Liquigas rider and second-placed Mattia Gavazzi (Preti Mangimi) in the closing stages.

Slovenian Grega Bole of Adria Mobil and another Lampre rider, Mauro Santambrogio, finished second and third in the overall standings respectively.

Bole also topped the young rider classification with a total time of 13 hours six minutes 47 seconds.

The second stage of the Giro della Provincia di Grosseto was annulled by the race jury after the riders refused to contest the final kilometre.

The riders were in agreement that the last part of the course between Campagnatico on Orbetello was too unsafe and crossed the line as one.

One team who didn't even make it to the start line was Team Silence-Lotto who were forced to withdraw after they had 16 bikes stolen the night before.

The race concludes in Grosseto tomorrow with Italian Filippo Pozzato (Liquigas) still the overall leader.

STAGE ONE

Filippo Pozzato of Liquigas won the opening stage of the Giro della Provincia di Grosseto in Follonica.

Leonardo Giordani had launched an early breakaway and the Ceramica Flaminia rider lasted alone in front for 130 kilometres, building a maximum lead of 14 minutes before being caught with 32-km of the 168-km trek from Massa Marittima remaining.

A group of 36 formed on the final circuit with Pozzato beating Grega Bole (Adria Mobil) and Alessandro Maserati (LPR) to the line.

The three-day race featuring eight ProTour teams continues with a 167-km stage from Campagnatico to Orbetello on Saturday.

Eurosport