Cycling: Henderson finishes second

New Zealand cyclist Greg Henderson has finished second in the 13th stage of the Tour of Italy.

Local favourite Manuel Belletti won the stage while Australia's Richie Porte maintained his lead of the tour, finishing seven minutes off the pace in 39th place to keep hold of the race leader's pink jersey.

Belletti, who was born in Cesena near the stage's finishing line, took the honours after leading home a lengthy breakaway, leaving Henderson in second place ahead of Spaniard Iban Mayoz and Germany's Paul Voss.

Belletti's victory was the second for an Italian in this year's race, following Filippo Pozzato's success in the 12th stage on Thursday.

A group of 17 riders, none of whom presented any kind of threat to the overall leaders, broke away after 62 kilometres of the 223km stage. They stretched their lead over the chasing pack to almost 10 minutes by the 136km mark and arrived in Cesenatico more than seven minutes ahead of the peloton.

Belletti outpaced the supposedly quicker Henderson in the ensuing sprint, while Russia's Vladimir Karpets crossed the line five minutes back in 17th place to bite off two-and-a-half minutes of the overall leaders' advantage.

The 14th stage in the mountainous north of the country is a 205km ride from Ferrara to Asolo, with Monte Grappa to be climbed 40km from the finish.

- NZPA