Giro d'Italia 2008 - Stage Three

The 2008 Giro d'Italia started from Palermo, southern Italy on May 10 and is held over 21 stages until June 1.

Stage 3- May 12 Catania - Milazzo 208km

Mount Etna may not have been spitting flames but Liquigas' Daniele Bennati was on fire when he won the third stage of the in a mass gallop to the line - more

Mauricio Soler (Barloworld)

Team Barloworld’s Mauricio Soler will be able to continue in the Giro d’Italia after x-rays revealed that he has not fractured a bone in his left hand. The Colombian climber is in pain after his stage two crash but it is due to ligament damage that can hopefully be relieved by using a protective bandage during the race.

The good news about Soler lifted moral at Team Barloworld and the team are determined to help make it through the next few days.

“Soler showed real courage by finishing the stage and we all admire him,” team mate Enrico Gasparotto said. “We tried to help him as much as we could, it’s the least we could do for such a brave rider.”

Bradley McGhee (Team CSC)

Bradley McGee hits the ground - Pic fotoreporter sirotti

The stage saw the end of Australian rider Bradley McGee's challenge as the 32-year-old - who wore the pink jersey for two days in the 2004 Giro - took a crashing fall around 20 kilometres from the finish.

McGee suffered a fractured collarbone, his CSC team reported. Another of CSC's Australian riders, Stuart O'Grady, picked up an identical injury from a seperate fall and despite struggling on to cross the finish line the winner of the 2007 Paris-Roubaix has had to pull out of the race.

Furthermore Chris Anker Sørensen lost about 35 seconds as a result of another crash he was involved in but luckily the young Danish talent is able to continue in the race as supposed to McGee and O'Grady.

"Today was a real downer for us! First of all we had several riders involved in the crashes but mostly because of the two broken collar bones of course. Chris was in two crashes which meant he lost time which was a real shame. This just goes to show how thin the line is between having great success to hitting rock bottom," sighed Team CSC sports director Kim Andersen after the stage.

"It's a great loss to have to do without Bradley and Stuart because they've both been extremely valuable for us in our fight for a good overall position in this race. But now we have to focus on gathering up the pieces and get on with it – especially for Chris' sake," said Kim Andersen.

Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval Scott)

Another group crash involved Sunday's stage winner Riccardo Ricco, but the Italian was able to resume despite suffering a suspected fracture of the index finger of his left hand.

"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.

Daniele Bennati (Liquigas)

Stage winner Bennati was far from complimentary about Monday's circuit. "I'd prefer not to talk about it as I'd only be too harsh on it. What I will say is that we all saw dangerous roads that suddenly narrowed, with railings along the roadside, and so on and so on," the 27-year-old complained.

Erik Zabel (Milram)

Erik Zabel finished second in the mass sprint, giving himself his first podium place in this year's Giro.

"My teammates did a great job in the finale,“ Erik Zabel said after the finish. "In the sprint, I tried to get past Bennati too early. He had the ideal line and the better position.“

Quickstep

Belgian Kevin Seeldraeyers was one of the stars that propelled the breakaway of the day.

Many crashes on Stage 3 - Pic fotoreporter sirotti

Speaking at the finish line Seeldraeyers said; “To think that this morning at the starting line in Catania my legs were hurting me a little, then I managed to work my way into the right break and I started feeling better kilometre after kilometre. It was a wonderful experience, this is my first time participating in the Giro d’Italia, and to be in the breakaway on the third day of competition for me is a great source of pride and satisfaction.”

Outside the Giro, Wouter Weylandt fell on Sunday May 11th on the track in Gent during the derny trial at the European Cup, resulting in a deep cut and dark bruise around his eyebrow. He rquierd stitches, and t will undergo further medical tests to exclude any further risks. As scheduled, Wednesday May 14th Weylandt will be ready at the starting line for the Profonde Fryslan race.

Riders for Profonde Fryslan are; Wilfried Cretskens, Steven De Jongh, Gert Steegmans, Jurgen Van De Walle, Van Impe, Davide Viganò, Wouter Weylandt.

Astana

After stage two's hard fall and dislocation of his shoulder it would not have been too surprising to see Team Astana’s Steve Morabito out of the race, but the tough rider soldiered on and was able to complete stage three.

Hoping to continue to improve in the next few days, Morabito was joined by Vladimir Gusev sustaining a bruised knee from a late-race crash.

Rabobank

Graeme Brown has had his share of bad luck," team leader Erik Breukink said after the third stage of the Giro, when the Rabo ProTeam sprinter fell twice. The first time he fell at 25 kilometers from the finish, after a Tinkoff runner slipped in an unusual way. "With several peculiar capers, we were able to get him back into the peloton in order for him to sprint together with the rest." That succeeded, but then too, the Tinkoff formation hindered Brown with a second crash as a result.

The queue of riding cyclists from that team went so far to the left, that the Australian had nowhere to go, was squeezed against the boarding, and hit the asphalt. His first shot to win a stage is gone, because there will not be many more bunch sprints. An analysis of the remaining Giro-stages says there will be four at most. Will Brown participate in these? Breukink: "That is hard to say at the moment, I can't say anything about that before we've gone through the night."

Brown picked up his bike in order to ride the last few meters was, however, a hopeful signal despite the bloodied knees. Mauricio Ardila also fell..

Stage 4 - May 13 Pizzo Calabro - Catanzaro-Lungomare 187km

Click on Map to enlarge

The Giro moves from Sicily to the Italian mainland on Tuesday with the fourth stage, a 183km ride from Pizzo Calabro to Catanzaro lungomare.

Looking ahead to the fourth stage, Erik Zabel said, "Tomorrow will be a sprint stage too. There will be a little climb with 20 km to go, but I hope the GC riders won't contest it, and will let the sprinters do their thing. We'll work like we did today and we will try for a good sprint."