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Giro d'Italia 2012 Results: Matteo Rabottini Captures Stage Victory; Joaquim Rodriguez Regains Maglia Rosa

The 2012 Giro d'Italia takes a break until Tuesday following Matteo Rabottini's victory on Stage 15 on Sunday. Rabottini defeated Joaquim Rodriguez in the final kilometers after briefly losing the lead. But Rodriguez did not end the day empty-handed: He regain the maglia rosa (pink jersey) by finishing 39 seconds ahead of then-leader Ryder Hesjedal of Garmin-Barracuda. Rodriguez now has a 30-second lead over Hesjedal.

The race is far from over with one more week to go and several high mountain stages to go through. We are likely to see the maglia rosa change hands over the next seven days.

Here is how Podium Cafe describes the finish to Stage 15:

On the final climb, with his lead dropping steadily, Rabottini saw the glory finally slip away as the pack came alive with 2km to go. Michele Scarponi started the action, but couldn't finish it when Joaquim Rodriguez, looking increasingly like a potential Giro winner, launched a counterattack that reeled in the tiring leaders and dropped his rivals. But Rabottini didn't give up when the elite Spaniard came up on him, and while it's possible Rodriguez allowed the win to get away (in exchange for the overall lead and possibly for the sake of his own safety), the fact remains that Rabottini dug deep to latch on to Rodriguez in a burst of truly inspired riding.

Top 10 for Stage 15 (full stage results):

Pos. Name Country Team Time d
1 Matteo Rabottini ITA FAR 5:15:30 0:00
2 Joaquim Rodriguez ESP KAT 5:15:30 0:00
3 Alberto Losada Alguacil ESP KAT 5:15:53 0:23
4 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya COL SKY 5:15:55 0:25
5 Michele Scarponi ITA LAM 5:15:55 0:25
6 Ivan Basso ITA LIQ 5:15:55 0:25
7 Stefano Pirazzi ITA COG 5:15:59 0:29
8 Roman Kreuziger CZE AST 5:15:59 0:29
9 John Gadret FRA ALM 5:15:59 0:29
10 Amets Txurruka ESP EUS 5:15:59 0:29

Top 10 for general classification (full GC results):

Pos. Name Country Team Time d
1 Joaquim Rodriguez ESP KAT 65:11:07 0:00
2 Ryder Hesjedal CAN GRM 65:11:37 0:30
3 Ivan Basso ITA LIQ 65:12:29 1:22
4 Paolo Tiralongo ITA AST 65:12:33 1:26
5 Roman Kreuziger CZE AST 65:12:34 1:27
6 Michele Scarponi ITA LAM 65:12:43 1:36
7 Benat Intxausti Elorriaga ESP MOV 65:12:49 1:42
8 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya COL SKY 65:13:02 1:55
9 Dario Cataldo ITA OPQ 65:13:19 2:12
10 Sandy Casar FRA FDJ 65:13:20 2:13

For more on the 2012 Giro d'Italia, stick with SB Nation Denver and visit cycling blog Podium Cafe.