Tirreno Adriatico: Boasson Hagen takes final stage for Team Sky, Garzelli takes overall

Team Sky’s Edvald Boasson Hagen was led out perfectly by Chris Sutton to hold of Alessandro Petacchi to take the seventh and final stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico in San Benedetto del Tronte this afternoon in a thrilling sprint finish in the seaside town.

In a dramatic final stage, last year’s runner-up, Stefano Garzelli of Acqua & Sapone, who started the day two seconds behind race leader and defending champion Michele Scarponi of Androni-Diquigiovanni, picked up a second on two intermediate sprints to draw level on time but crucially took the virtual overall lead on countback. World champion Cadel Evans completed the podium, 12 seconds down.

That will give Scarponi, who hails from the Marche region in which the race finishes, even more cause to rue losing vital time bonus seconds when he finished sixth with Garzellis second in yesterday’s stage into the town of Macerata, won by Katusha’s Mikhail Ignatieff.