Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) increased his overall lead in the Giro del Trentino on Thursday, winning the race’s second road stage with an impressive display of climbing that dispensed his rivals.

Evans out-paced Domenico Pozzovivo (Ag2r) to take the win after the pair had distanced a group of contenders on the steep ramps of the final climb.

Evans then edged ahead to take the victory over Pozzovivo, with Mikel Landa (Astana) coming home in third ahead of team-mate Michele Scarponi.

Bradley Wiggins (Sky) was the top-placed British rider on the stage, finishing in 49th place three minutes and 17 seconds behind Evans. He now sits in 42nd place overall.

The 2014 Giro del Trentino concludes on Friday with another mountain-top finish. With a comfortable 45-second buffer over second-placed Pozzovivo, Evans now looks in a very strong position to take the race win.

Results
Giro del Trentino 2014, stage three: Mori to Roncone, 184.4km
1. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing in 4-43-43
2. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r at 3 secs
3. Mikel Landa (Spa) Astana at 9 secs
4. Michele Scarponi (Ita) Astana at same time
5. Igor Anton (Spa) Movistar at 20 secs
6. Francesco Bongiorno (Ita) Bardiani-CSF at 25 secs
7. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana
8. Tiago Machado (Por) NetApp-Endura
9. Louis Meintjes (RSA) MTN-Qhubeka at same time
10. Fabio Duarte (Col) Colombia at 28 secs

Overall classification after stage three
1. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing in 9-23-43
2. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r at 45 secs
3. Tiago Machado (Por) NetApp-Endura at 59 secs
4. Igor Anton (Spa) Movistar at 1-01
5. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana at 1-01
6. Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida at 1-01
7. Fabio Duarte (Col) Colombia at 1-01
8. Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Bardiani-CSF at 1-04
9. Michele Scarponi (Ita) Astana at 1-06
10. Francesco Bongiorno (Ita) Bardiani-CSF
Other
42. Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky at 6-03
80. Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar at 25-35
110. Scott Thwaites (GBr) NetApp-Endura at 35-48