Cycling: Visconti stripped of win after sprint push

(AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

Diego Ulissi of Lampre won the 17th stage of the Giro d'Italia yesterday after race officials reviewed a controversial sprint finish in Tirano that also involved Farnese Vini's Giovanni Visconti and Movistar's Pablo Lastras.

Race judges reacted swiftly after Visconti, who was hemmed in between Ulissi and the barriers in the final few metres, pushed off fellow Italian Ulissi to clear space and go for the triumph. Visconti was relegated to third place behind Ulissi and Lastras.

Spain's Alberto Contador of Saxo Bank-Sungard, who came in two minutes and 58 seconds behind, leads the general race standings by four minutes and 58 seconds over Lampre's Michele Scarponi.