In the Giro, after a satisfying team time trial by the Lampre-ISD team on day one, Scarponi almost won the seventh stage, finishing second to Bart De Clercq by a tyre's length, after trying to chase him down in the final kilometre. The resultant time bonus put him within fourteen seconds of the race lead in fifth place. Scarponi lost time on the ninth stage, the most difficult stage up to that point with the finish at Mount Etna; he had tried to follow an attack by Alberto Contador, but very quickly lost the pace, and ultimately lost 67 seconds to Contador. Commentators felt that Scarponi had been left wanting both physically and tactically and paid for his efforts on the climb, but he did remain in fifth place overall. Lampre-ISD led the peloton in the closing stages of eleventh stage in anticipation of setting up Scarponi for the stage victory in Castelfidardo; however, John Gadret put in a surprise attack within the final kilometre, and ultimately won the stage. Scarponi finished eighth on the stage, but praised his team, mentioning Alessandro Petacchi in particular, for their hard work at the front of the race for much of the day. He reached the halfway point of the Giro in fifth position, 88 seconds behind race leader Contador. Before the second rest day of the race, there was a triumvirate of high-mountain, summit finishes in the Dolomites (stages thirteen to fifteen), at the Grossglockner in Austria, Monte Zoncolan and Gardeccia.