Australian rider Matthew Lloyd of Team Lotto-Omega Pharma held on after an early breakaway to win the sixth stage of the 2010 Giro d'Italia on Friday, while Vincenzo Nibali retained the overall lead.

Lloyd finished the 172-kilometer (106-miles) course in 4 hours, 24 minutes and 14 seconds for his first stage win in a Grand Tour. He also took 13 mountain points to take the green jersey as the best climber.

"I'm shocked, it was incredible," Lloyd said. "This race was always in my heart. It's a romantic and special thing."

Lloyd and Rubens Bertogliati of Switzerland broke away early and the Australian then pulled away on the final climb. Bertogliati finished second, 1:06 behind, with Daniel Hondo leading home the peloton to finish third, another 9 seconds back.

Lloyd and Bertogliati attacked soon after the start and maintained their lead throughout the race. The Australian made his break on the final climb, the Bedizzano, and continued to extend his lead on the descent to the finish line.

Nibaldi leads the overall standings by 13 seconds ahead of fellow Italian Ivan Basso.

With the race ramping up speed into the final 35km, Cervélo TestTeam captain Carlos Sastre punctured.

"Carlos (Sastre) had a puncture on the second climb of the day. It was just about the worse possible spot when the speed in the main pack started to increase dramatically," Cervelo TestTeam's sport director Alex Sans Vega commented and added "The race was going fast and the team waited for Carlos. We were able to get him safely back with the main group, but not without a hard effort to regain contact."

A number of riders struggled in the wet conditions. Britain's Bradley Wiggins suffered his third crash of the race, while Paolo Tiralongo and Guillaume Bonnafond were taken to a hospital after crashes.

Saturday's 215 kilometer race includes three climbs - one before the finish - marking the "real start" of the 2010 Giro d'Italia for the overall contenders. "Saturday is a tough stage," BMC Racing Team's world champion Cadel Evans said and added "Both saturday and sunday will be good indicators of who the serious contenders are for the overall. Today, with the weather and the slick roads at the start, it was a bit difficult. There were a lot of crashes. I am happy my ex-teammate and old roommate and friend of mine (Matthew Lloyd) won today."

The Giro d'Italia 2010 ends May 30 in Verona.

Stay tuned to us here at Roadcycling.com for complete 2010 Giro d'Italia coverage including video highlights from the race and visit www.universalsports.com/cycling for live video from the Giro.

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