Dean brilliant in stage win in Giro d'Italia

New Zealand cyclist Julian Dean played the key role in the stage victory for his Garmin Transitions sprinter Tyler Farrar in the latest stage of the Giro D’Italia today.

Dean provided the perfect lead-out in a stunning display of sprinting to deliver Farrar to the line to win stage 10, a 230km journey from Avellino to Bitonto.

It was Farrar’s second stage win of the Giro but he was quick to give the praise to his veteran New Zealand team-mate who finished third.

Dean made it a long sprint today, opening up the field with a withering burst around the final corner.

"I have the strongest team in the world for leading me out. It makes it easier for winning,” Farrar told Cycling News. “I'm confident in my guys. The last kilometre was very dangerous with curves and the road getting narrower. I had a good position for going out of the wheels at the last moment.

"Such a slight uphill finish was perfect for me; it's not me but Julian Dean who did something extraordinary. I was going to let him win but I saw Sabatini who was coming behind me and I had to keep the win in the team."

It was not such good news for kiwi Greg Henderson (Sky) who crashed with 13km remaining and had to expend too much energy catching the group, finishing just behind the winners.

The Kazakhstan rider Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) retained the tour lead, 1m 12sec ahead of Australia’s Cadel Evans (BMC).

Tomorrow’s 11th stage is the longest stage of the tour at 262km from Lucera to L’Aquilla through the Apennines mountains.