Mathieu van der Poel won the fourth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico on Thursday as Giulio Pellizzari snatched the overall race lead from Isaac Del Toro.
Dutchman Van der Poel claimed his second stage win in three days with a powerful show of speed in the final few hundred metres in Martinsicuro on Italy's Adriatic coast.
The 31-year-old prevailed after an eventful 213-kilometre ride which came down to the short but punchy final Tortoreto climb, when the peloton split under pressure from Del Toro and Wout van Aert.
A dozen or so of the race's leading contenders, including Pellizzari and Del Toro, broke clear with around 15km to race, ensuring that they would contest the stage victory.
With the season's first Monument race, Milan-San Remo, just over the horizon in 10 days time, the reigning champion Van der Poel proved he is in fine form.
He romped to victory in his opening race of the season at the end of February at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and has now managed three victories in just five days of racing this year.
Pellizzari leads Del Toro by just two seconds ahead of Friday's fifth stage, which winds over 184km between Marotta-Mondolfo and Mombaroccio.
It will be the first of two gruelling mountain stages which should decide the general classification before Sunday's procession finale.