Intro:

FDJ.fr rider Nacer Bouhanni won stage 10 of the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday while BMC Racing's Cadel Evans retained the leaders' pink jersey.

Script:

After an official rest day, the 2014 Giro d'Italia resumed on Tuesday, with the riders set to tackle a 173-kilometre ride from Modena to Salsomaggiore Terme.

BMC Racing's Cadel Evans began the stage as the overall leader with a 57-second advantage over second placed Rigoberto Uran.

Early on, two men made a break and held station at the front of the race for the majority of the stage.

Androni rider Marco Bandiera and Andrea Fedi, of the Neri Sottoli-Yellow Fluo team, surged out in front and built a lead of over nine minutes ahead of the chasing peloton.

As the closing kilometres unfolded, BMC's Yannick Eijssen suffered an ugly crash and was promptly transported away by ambulance.

However, greater drama was to follow.

Inside the final kilometre, with Bandiera and Fedi already caught and jostling for position in the pack, a huge crash took out several leading riders.

Amongst those to escape the carnage was the in-form Nacer Bouhanni, who timed his sprint to perfection, jumping off of the wheel of Giacomo Nizzolo to get the better of the Italian and Michael Matthews.

Bouhanni claimed the stage win, his third of the Giro, in a time of 4 hours 1 minute 13 seconds - with Nizzolo second and Matthews third.

Evans finished ninth and maintained both his 57-second overall lead - and the coveted pink leaders' jersey.