Michele Scarponi lived up to his reputation as an attacking rider when he won the fourth stage of the 2011 Tirreno-Adriatico earlier today.

The Team Lampre-LSD rider was the aggressor with two kilometers left, and despite stalling in the uphill finish he held off teammate and fellow Italian Damiano Cunego and Australian Cadel Evans of Team BMC Racing.

It was not enough, however, to unsettle race favourite Robert Gesink as the Dutchman took the overall lead from Evans.

Team Rabobank's Gesink leads Evans by 10 seconds overall, with Giro d'Italia champion Ivan Basso in third place 12 seconds off the pace. Scarponi is fourth 15 seconds behind Gesink.

The peloton gathered for a minute's silence for the victims of the Japan earthquake and the Japan tsunami before the start of the 240-kilometer stage that passed through the city of L'Aquila, devastated by an earthquake in 2009.

"I'm worried. My parents were safe but there is so much damage because of this disaster. When I think about it, my heart is very painful," Japanese rider Fumi Beppu of Team RadioShack wrote on Twitter.

Cadel Evans told Roadcycling.com/Roadcycling.com the 240-kilometer stave that included nearly 3,000 meters of climbing was the first real test of his form. "I've been training since November without any problems and all the numbers in training looked good," Evans said and continued "But it's what you can do on the results board that counts for me in the end. Today, I rode more as a GC rider than for the stage win."

Comenting on his position in the overall rankings 10 seconds behind Michele Scarponi Cadel Evans told Roadcycling.com/Roadcycling.mobi "It's a good position to be in and we have two more tough days leading into the final time trial."

The 2011 Tirreno-Adriatico race ends on Tuesday. Watch video highlights from the 2011 Tirreno-Adriatico in the videos section here on Roadcycling.com after each day's stage.

Download Roadcycling.com's new cycling iPhone app online at http://itunes.apple.com/app/roadcycling-cycling-app/id395146493