A seven-rider breakaway was formed after 15km of racing riding across the Po River. They built a lead of more than 10 minutes but once they hit the coast their lead and their numbers started to diminish.
riders: Matteo Bono (ITA/Lampre Merida), Nathan Haas (AUS/Garmin-Sharp), Nicola Boem (ITA/Bardiani), Antonio Parrinello (ITA/Androni Giocattoli), Maarten Tjallingii (NDL/Belkin), Jan Barta (CZE/Netapp-Endura) and Marc de Maar (NLD/UnitedHealthCare)