The Italian missed a split in the peloton on stage 12, leading to him not contesting the final sprint, which was won by Ireland’s Sam Bennett.

Vivani would not suffer the same fate on today’s 180 kilometre stage from Ferrara, which gave the sprinters a final chance for victory prior to several days of mountain racing.

A five-man breakaway move were allowed to go clear in the early stages, but a motivated peloton kept them within their grasp.

The move came to an end in the final six kilometres of racing, leading to the expected bunch.

Viviani proved the fastest of the sprinters, with the Italian securing his third stage win of the race by crossing the line in 3 hours 56min 25sec.

The Quick-Step Floors rider was followed by Bennett, who ended second on the same time as the winner.

The Netherlands’ Danny van Poppel and Italy’s Sacha Modolo rounded off the top four positions.

“It's amazing to be back after a few difficult days,” said Viviani, who retains the sprint jersey.

“This is what I needed and what my team deserved for the great job they have done.

“I had two or three bad days, but I remained determined to keep the Maglia Ciclamino.

“Sport is made of dreams, good and bad moments.”

Britain's Simon Yates finished safely in the main field to retain his race lead.

The Mitchelton-Scott rider is 47 seconds clear of defending champions Tom Dumoulin of The Netherlands.

France’s Thibaut Pinot is third at 1:18 behind.

A big test for the general classification hopefuls will take place tomorrow, with the steep 186km stage from San Vito Al Tagliamento to Monte Zoncolan.