Alessandro Petacchi wins the sprint |
The moment Nikolai Trusov begins a mass crash |
Not a dignified way to crash is it now? |
A wet day for the riders made the racing dangerous, and nowhere was this highlighted more than in the final sprint for the finish.
Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) took his third win in this year’s Giro ahead of Gabriele Balducci (Acqua & Sapone) and Robbie McEwen. And while Petacchi was throwing his hands up in celebration, chaos erupted behind. First rider to fall was Nikolai Trusov (Tinkoff), losing control on the wet roads. This caused loads of riders behind to subsequently fall, sliding across the finish line, including Maglia Rosa Andrea Noè (Liquigas).
Commenting on his third win, Petacchi said: “With seven kilometres to go I didn’t want to do the sprint because of the rain. But my team-mates had done a very good job, so I did it anyway. Fortunately I won. I’m very happy for my team and for myself. When I came to the Giro I didn’t think I’d win three stages.“
