GreenEdge rider Matthew Goss won the sprint in Stage Three of the Giro d'Italia ahead of J.J. Haedo and Tyler Farrar, while Sky’s Mark Cavendish got caught in a crash which also claimed race leader Taylor Phinney.
The 190-km stage came down to a confused sprint finish, much like Stage Two, as no team could take control of the peloton in the final kilometer.
While GreenEdge brought Matthew Goss to the front, Sky had run oput of riders, leaving Stage Two winner Mark Cavendish well back. When Cavendish made his move towards the front, he was knocked down by Roberto Ferrari in a crash which collected half-a-dozen other riders including BMC’s Taylor Phinney in the Maglia Rosa.
The win was the first for GreenEdge in a Grand Tour, the first for Goss in GreenEdge colors, and his second Giro stage win.
“I guess it was a bit of really fast sprint,” Goss told Cyclingnews.com. “I had two guys who delivered me to the last 300 meters, but I think there was a bit of carnage behind.
“It’s my second Giro stage win. It’s great to win here in a pure bunch sprint. I’m very happy for the team. There were a lot corners in the finale, that always strings the bunch out but I had a great team.”
Tribute to Wouter Weylandt, Then Racing
The stage opened with a tribute to Leopard Trek rider Wouter Weylandt, who was fatally injured in a crash in Stage Three of the 2011 Giro d'Italia. The riders lined up across the road by teams, removed their helmets and observed a moment of silence for their fallen friend.
Once the race got underway, a breakaway of six riders formed— Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin-Barracuda,) Reto Hollenstein (NetApp,) Alfredo Balloni (Farnese Vini,) Martijn Keizer (Vacansoleil-DCM,) Mads Christensen (Saxo Bank,) and Miguel Minguez (Euskaltel-Euskadi.)
This group got away at 12 km but never got a gap bigger than 3:30. They were caught at 28 km to go, but first Mads Christensen, who had led through his hometown of Odder at the 76-km mark, attacked the weakening break. Christensen stayed away for eight kilometers before being caught at kilometer 24.
Five km later Lotto-Belisol’s Lars Bak launched an attack, a carbon copy of his Stage Two effort. Bak was caught with 11.6 to go, after getting some important TV exposure for his team.
A pair of very tight, narrow corners in the final six kilometers stretched out the peloton. Sky, at the head of the peloton, picked up the pace after these corners, which further increased the nervousness of the riders. Several teams tried to take control: Liquigas, Astana, Garmin-Barracuda, and Saxo Bank all vied with Sky to lead the peloton.
Collision at the Finish
Sky managed to take the lead with two km to go but Cavendish had come adrift; he was sitting seventh wheel Rabobank’s Mark Renshaw (Cav’s leadout man at HTC-Columbia for the last several seasons.) Omega Pharma-Quick Step’s Nikolas Maes attacked with 1200 meters to go but was caught shortly after the 1-km banner.
GreenEdge then moved down the middle with two riders leading Matthew Goss, cutting all the way to the left once they took the lead. Garmin’s Tyler Farrar and Saxo Bank’s J.J. Haedo clung to Goss as GreenEdge moved forward.
After the two GreenEdge leadouts peeled off, Matt Goss led the sprint down the left side with Saxo Bank’s J.J. Haedo and Garmin’s Tyler Farrar just behind off his right shoulder. Cavendish, six back now, launched his attack down the middle and quickly closed the gap to the leading three.
Androni Giocattoli’s Roberto Ferrari, fourth in line, tried to come from the far left across to the right to get around the three leaders, Goss, Haedo, and Farrar. Ferrari, intent on what was ahead, didn’t look back and chopped across the onrushing Cavendish, clipping his front wheel and dumping him to the pavement where he collected half-a-dozen other riders including race leader Taylor Phinney who sat on the pavement for several minutes with what looked like an injured ankle.
Cavendish carried his bike across the finish line with severe roadrash on his left shoulder. Taylor Phinney was treated briefly in an ambulance before emerging to cross the line a few minutes later to retain his leader’s pink jersey.
“I’m better now,” Phinney told Cyclingnews.com after the stage. “When I was on the ground I was a bit confused and in a state of shock, but I started to feel better when I was in the ambulance.
“I must have hit something when I fell. It’s a pity that it happened and hopefully it’s nothing important. It’s lucky tomorrow is a rest day.”
Phinney, Cavendish, and any other injured riders will be very glad for that rest day Tuesday, which might give them time to recover and continue.
| Stage Three Giro d'Italia | |||
|
| rider | team | time |
| 1 | Matthew Harley Goss | Orica GreenEdge | 4:20:53 |
| 2 | Juan José Haedo | Saxo Bank |
|
| 3 | Tyler Farrar | Garmin-Barracuda |
|
| 4 | Arnaud Demare | FDJ-Big Mat |
|
| 5 | Mark Renshaw | Rabobank |
|
| 6 | Thor Hushovd | BMC |
|
| 7 | Alexander Kristoff | Katusha |
|
| 8 | Romain Feillu | Vacansoleil-DCM |
|
| 9 | Fumiyuki Beppu | Orica GreenEdge |
|
| 10 | Andrea Guardini | Farnese Vini |
|
| General Classification after Stage Three | |||
|
| rider | team | time |
| 1 | Taylor Phinney | BMC | 9:24:31 |
| 2 | Geraint Thomas | Sky | + 9 |
| 3 | Alex Rasmussen | Garmin-Barracuda | + 13 |
| 4 | Manuele Boaro | Saxo Bank | + 15 |
| 5 | Gustav Erik Larsson | Vacansoleil-DCM | + 22 |
| 6 | Ramunas Navardauskas | Garmin-Barracuda | + 22 |
| 7 | Brett Lancaster | Orica-GreenEdge | + 23 |
| 8 | Marco Pinotti | BMC | + 24 |
| 9 | Jesse Sergent | RadioShack-Nissan | + 26 |
| 10 | Nelson Oliveira | RadioShack-Nissan | + 27 |
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