Edvald Boasson Hagen blitzes to Giro d'Italia stage win

EDVALD Boasson Hagen timed his sprint finish to perfection to claim victory in the seventh stage of the Giro d'Italia in Chiavenna.

Danilo Di Luca retains the maglia rosa as the tour returned to Italy, having sampled both Switzerland and Austria in recent stages.

Boasson Hagen finished second behind Michele Scarponi in yesterday's stage but he burst past Italy's Alessandro Bertolini with 200m to go for his first Grand Tour stage victory of his career.

It's 21-year-old Norwegian first Grand Tour appearance and is further evidence of the Team Columbia-High Road's excellent form in 2009, having captured victory in the Gent-Wevelgem.

Bertolini looked certain to become the fourth Italian in 2009 to capture stage victory in the 244km race, as he broke away from the leading five in the closing kilometres.

The Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni rider had broken clear of the peloton with 30km of sharp descending to go but he was reeled in by a chasing quartet.

That four included South Africa's Robbie Hunter, Boasson Hagen, Davide Vigano and Pavel Brut - who lead the chase in the final kilometre - before Boasson Hagen blitzed home.

Di Luca maintains his five-second general classification lead over Swede Thomas Lovkvist. Due to poor weather conditions, the overall times were frozen three kilometres from the finish, ensuring there were few changes in the standings.

Britain's Ben Swift gained another top-ten finish after coming third in stage two. He finished tenth, one ahead of Mark Cavendish.

Tomorrow sees the Giro embark on a 209km trek from Morbegno to Bergamo.