Bennati edged out Cavendish to add to his two stage wins

Mark Cavendish lost out to Italian Daniele Bennati in a photo-finish on stage 12 of the Giro D'Italia.

The Briton, Bennati and Australian Robbie McEwen were locked as they sprinted for the line with officials taking several minutes to split them.

Bennati was given the nod with a time of four hours 5.29 minutes over the 107-mile route ahead of Cavendish and McEwen to claim his third stage win.

Giovanni Visconti retained his overall lead for the seventh day running.

Cavendish is the fastest in the world in the last 50 metres of a sprint Daniele Bennati

"If the finish line had been five metres further on, I'd have got him, but unfortunately it wasn't," he said.

"It's tough when it's that close and you lose but I'll try and win on Friday in Cittadella."

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Bennati said: "I thought I'd lost it but the judges told me I won it by just three centimetres. I've lost sprints like that in the past but this time I won it.

"I knew I had to be first into the last corner if I wanted to win. It meant I had to do a long sprint but it was the best tactic.

"If I'd been behind Cavendish I would have lost because he's the fastest in the world in the last 50 metres of a sprint."

Friday's 177km 13th leg from Modena to Cittadella is the last flat stage for the sprinters before the race heads into the mountains.

Giro d'Italia stage 12 results:

1. Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas, 4 hours, 5 minutes, 29 seconds
2. Mark Cavendish (GB) High Road "
3. Robbie McEwen (Aut) Silence-Lotto "
4. Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi "
5. Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step "
6. Robert Forster (Ger) Gerolsteiner "
7. Luciano Pagliarini (Brz) Saunier Duval "
8. Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana "
9. Alexandre Usov (Bel) AG2R "
10. Alexander Serov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems "

Selected others:
47 Geraint Thomas (GB) Barloworld 4hrs 05mins 29secs
57 Bradley Wiggins (GB) High Road same time
117 Steven Cummings (GB) Barloworld same time
145 David Millar (GB) Slipstream same time
159 Charles Wegelius (GB) Liquigas same time

Overall standings:
1. Giovanni Visconti (Ita) 53 hours, 5 minutes, 46 seconds
2. Gabriele Bosisio (Ita) 5 minutes, 50 seconds behind
3. Alberto Contador (Spa) 6:59 behind
4. Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) 7:52
5. Andreas Kloden (Ger) 7:54
6. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) 8:04
7. Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) 8:09
8. Riccardo Ricco (Ita) 8:32
9. Danilo Di Luca (Ita) 8:33
10. Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) same time.

Selected others:
77 David Millar (GB) Slipstream @ 44mins 53secs
109 Geraint Thomas (GB) Barloworld @ 1.10.34
118 Steven Cummings (GB) Barloworld @ 1.14.54
126 Charles Wegelius (GB) Liquigas @ 1.20.42
149 Mark Cavendish (GB) High Road at 1.38.04
155 Bradley Wiggins (GB) High Road at 1.42.12