His spectacular triumph yesterday seemed to be Riccò´s break of spell, after his lousy beginning of season --falls in Tirreno-Adriatico and País Vasco, flue in the Ardennes classics, and so on. However, it was only an illusion: the young SAUNIER DUVAL-SCOTT´s star went down today in stage three of the 91st Giro D´Italia (Catania-Milazzo, 221 kilometres), a race characterised by a dangerous course and slippery roads. Riccò was involved in a thirty-man crash with 70 kilometres remaining, which also affected "red birds" Benítez and Capecchi. "La Cobra" sustained one of the most serious blows, hitting his left side, especially his hand, which he could barely rest on his bike´s handlebar after the fall. With the help of Belohvosciks, Benítez and Capelli, Riccò managed to reach the peloton and complete the race. However, he has to go to hospital to check if he has broken his left forefinger. Capecchi also suffered the consequences of the crash: He seems to have a broken collarbone and he has to be examined in hospital too.
With regard to cycling, the stage ended in an expected mass sprint won by Daniele Bennati (Liquigas), who beat Erik Zabel (Milram) and Danilo Hondo (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli). Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) easily held on to his overall lead. SAUNIER DUVAL-SCOTT´s sprinter Luciano Pagliarini had to be content with spot 11 after brushing past Thomas Fothen (Gerolsteiner) with only 100 metres to go, ready to land spot 5. Tomorrow, the Giro will be back on Italy´s mainland, where it will stay for the remainder of the race, with a 183-kilometre leg from Pizzo Calabro to Catanzaro Lungomare. These were Riccardo Riccò´s bitter words after crossing the finish line: "I don´t want to sound like a victim, but I thought my share of bad luck for this year was over. Let´s hope is destiny´s last trick from here to Milan, and let´s hope my hand injury doesn´t affect my chance to win. In this case, it hasn´t been just bad luck; the road was full of ditches, potholes and roundabouts. In this kind of parcours, crashes happen all the time."
General Classification: 1. Pellizotti (Liquigas) 11:52:17; 2. Vandevelde (Slipstream Chipotle) at 0:01; 3. Di Luca (LPR Brakes) 0:07.; … 18. Riccò (SDS) at 0:33; 35. Piepoli (SDS) at 1:01; 45. Capecchi (SDS) at 1:13; 61. Camaño (SDS) at 1:47; 73. Cañada (SDS) at 2:05; 98. José A. Benítez (SDS) at 4:26; 167. Pagliarini (SDS) at 14:38; 182. Belohvosciks (SDS) at 17:52; 194. Capelli (SDS) at 22:51.
