sentences:  With Scarponi finishing second in both 2011 races, he was retrospectively promoted to first position.Scarponi's first stage race of the season was March's Tirreno–Adriatico, where he featured less prominently compared to previous years, finishing seventh overall.Scarponi then moved on to the Tour of the Basque Country, where he was part of the lead group on the final climb of the third stage to Eibar, before fading down to seventh place on the stage.