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The 34-year-old pulled away from compatriot Ivan Basso of CSC, on the final descent after the pair had decimated the field on a tough 10.8km final climb.

Basso, who finished second on the stage, extended his lead in the pink jersey standings.

All Basso's main rivals struggled in cold, wet conditions as his CSC team put their foot on the gas as the stage neared its dramatic climax with a punishing steady climb with a maximum gradient of 15 percent.

Last year's winner Paolo Savoldelli and 2004 champion Damiano Cunego were the first to crack before 2003 titlist Gilberto Simoni also hit the wall as Basso set a furious tempo on the climb.

But once the lead pair clambered over the summit, Basso took it easy on the descent in driving rain, taking a no-risk policy and allowing Piepoli to distance him by 43 seconds in the final 7km.

Simoni, riding with second-placed Spaniard Jose Enrique Gutierrez, cut their deficit on Basso, which had been over a minute at the summit, to just 35 seconds by the finishing line.

Savoldelli and Cunego also took risks on the descent Saturday and cut their losses to just two minutes on Basso, although that left the 2004 champion at almost 9min down on the overall standings.

Savoldelli is still third but now 5min 30sec behind with Gutierrez in second at 3:27. Simoni leapfrogged up to fifth at 8:00 with last season's Pro Tour winner Danilo Di Luca one place behind Cunego in ninth but 10:36 off the pace.

The stage victory was Piepoli's first in the Giro but his second in the grand Tours having claimed a stage in the Tour of Spain in 2004.

But Basso's gains on his major rivals, for the second time in a mountain stage, could prove decisive for the Tour de France contender in his bid to become the first double winner since Marco Pantani won both Tours in 1998.