Pile up in the finishing straight mars the stage dedicated to the memory of Wouter Weylandt; Phinney down again
After five second places in the previous two weeks, Matt Goss finally took a victory in the colours of Orica-GreenEdge in a peloton sprint at the end of the third stage of the Giro d’Italia in Horsens, Denmark. The Australian was the first to open up his sprint on the long straight and, as Roberto Ferrari (Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela) took out Mark Cavendish (Team Sky) - causing a pile up behind him - the Australian held off the challenge of Juan Jose Haedo (Saxo Bank) and Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Barracuda), who took second and third.
“I’m really happy to have won,” said Goss in the post-race press conference. “I was second behind Cavendish on Sunday and so really wanted this stage win.
“It’s an important win for me and for the team because it’s our first in a Grand Tour,” he continued. “I want to dedicate it to my teammates because they did an amazing job leading me out so that I could win.”
Since he had hit the front early, thanks to a strong lead out from Orica-GreenEdge teammate Brett Lancaster, Goss had not seen what had happened to Cavendish and some of his other sprint rivals.
“The road was wide and I was near the front, so I didn’t know about what was happening behind me,” he explained.
Race leader Taylor Phinney (BMC Racing) was among those to come down, having spent the final part of the stage right at the front to try to avoid the problems he’d suffered the previous day, as well as guiding teammate Thor Hushovd to the front. He was treated at the same spot for some time - although by then was sitting up - and left the scene by ambulance. He was able to make the podium presentations however, and so went into the rest day with his lead intact.
“Immediately after the crash I stayed sat in the road because I was a bit shocked,” the American explained afterwards. “I got in the ambulance and my right ankle was swollen. I put ice on it and so it’s a lot less painful. I then went back to the finish because I wanted to pull on the pink jersey.
“It’s a pity that I crashed, I wish it hadn’t happened,” he added. “But crashing is part of cycling. I just hope it’s not serious.”
The 190km stage had begun with a minute’s silence in memory of Wouter Weylandt, who was tragically killed during the third stage of last year’s race.
The long break of the day came from Alfredo Balloni (Farnese Vini-Selle Italia), Mads Christensen (Saxo Bank), Martijn Keizer (Vacansoleil-DCM), Reto Hollenstein (NetApp), Miguel Mínguez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin-Barracuda). The six riders escaped in the first 12km, but were never allowed to get more than 3’25” ahead; Christensen - the Danish rider in the break - attacked the others with 32.5km to go, as they neared the end of the first 14.6km finishing circuit, but he himself was caught just eight kilometres later.
Lars Bak (Lotto-Belisol) attacked soon afterwards - as he had done the previous day - but was always under control, and was back in the fold with 11.5km to go. The stage was heading for a clean sprint, on the wide, straight boulevard finish, until Ferrari cut across Cavendish, causing the carnage that ensued.
Ferrari didn’t come down himself, and crossed the line in ninth, but was quickly relegated to 192nd place, at the very back of the peloton.
The peloton remembers Wouter Weylandt “sempre con noi”
The stage began with a minute’s silence in memory of late Belgian rider Wouter Weylandt, who tragically died during the third stage of last year’s race. Tributes were also paid to Jan Trøjborg, the Mayor of Horsens, who died the previous day. The RadioShack-Nissan team [which is the 2012 incarnation of Weylandt’s Leopard-Trek team of last year - ed] were lined up at the front of the peloton, along with Weylandt’s close friend Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Barracuda).
On the opposite side of the Jutland peninsular to the previous day, the 190km stage would take in a figure eight course, with a 45km loop to the south of the town, followed by a 100km loop to the north. The three finishing circuits around the town would follow, featuring several sharp corners; the last of which came with just over one kilometre to go.
While not quite as pancake flat as the second stage, the highest point of stage three was to be the 4th category climb at Ejer Bavnehøj, which topped out at 159 metres.
Just as had happened the day before, a group of riders escaped in the early kilometres, and Balloni - who’d been out all day on stage two, and was now wearing the blue mountains jersey - was in amongst it again. With the Italian were Danish rider Christensen - who’d crashed in the stage one time trial - Keizer, Hollenstein, Minguez, and Lithuanian champion Navardauskas.
Navardauskas was the best placed overall, just 22 seconds behind race leader Phinney, having finished sixth in the opening time trial after leading it for more than two hours. Unlike the day before, the group was not allowed to build up an enormous lead; they quickly opened a gap of 3’25” by the 36th kilometre, but this was as far as it was to get and it remained static for the next 50km.
As Keizer led over the Traguardo Volante sprint, in Hovedgård after 90.6km, the six riders were just 3’10” ahead, and at the feedzone, in Katrup after 93.5km, it dropped to 3’02”. As FDJ-BigMat led the peloton in the kilometres that followed though, it slipped out to 3’25” again.
Balloni led the sextet over the top of the climb at Ejer Bavnehøj, after 103.8km, adding three points to his total and keeping the blue jersey on his shoulders for another day.
The peloton briefly began to accelerate into the closing kilometres of the stage it briefly split into two parts. With 65km to go the gap to the six leaders had been cut to 2’40” but, as the peloton reformed it was allowed to rise a little once more; Team Sky was present in force at the front of the peloton, behind one final FDJ-BigMat rider, and with 60km to go the British team took over.
The finishing circuit approaches and the break’s days are numbered
Into the final 50km the breakaway was just 2‘13”, as Orica-GreenEdge, BMC Racing and Liquigas-Cannondale joined Team Sky at the front.
Across the finish line to start the first of the three finishing circuits, with 43km to go, the gap was down to just 1’32”. The six riders in front were all still sharing the work well together, but the sprinters’ teams behind them now meant business.
Where it had caught the breakaway with 40km to go the day before however - allowing for the counterattack of Lars Bak (Lotto-Belisol) - the peloton was more circumspect this time; with 32.5km to go the six up front were still 34 seconds clear.
This was where Christensen made his move however, attacking from the rear of the group on a gradual rise. The other five did nothing to stop the Danish rider and at the end of the first lap, with 28.7km to go, he was 25 ahead of them, with the peloton just eight seconds behind them.
In the first kilometre of lap two, Christensen’s former companions were swallowed up by the peloton, leaving just the Danish rider out front. With 25km still to ride though, he had just eight seconds in hand, and surely his time would soon be up. Sure enough, with 24.3km to go, FDJ-BigMat led the peloton past him, and the race was all together with just over a lap and a half to go.
This was still a little early, and left the sprinters open to counter attacks, but, as any number of teams vied for the front of the peloton, the speed was kept high enough to prevent anybody escaping. Bak was at it again though, and managed to jump clear for the second straight stage, with 20km to go.
As the peloton allowed the Danish rider his time in the sun once more, he was allowed to open a gap of 15 seconds in the next two kilometres and, at the bell he was still 13 seconds ahead.
Liquigas-Cannondale and Lampre-ISD were leading the peloton - with Liquigas-Cannondale’s Ivan Basso close to the front to keep out of trouble - and were making very slow progress, but with 12km to go Team Sky took over again. This was the end for Bak, who turned to see the peloton close behind him, and sat up to surrender with 11.5km to go.
No more breaks as the sprinters’ teams have control
Into the final nine kilometres, NetApp and Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela took turns to set the pace but, with eight kilometres to go, the fight for the front began again. Saxo Bank and Omega Pharma-Quick Step were to the fore, but Phinney himself was bringing BMC Racing sprinter Thor Hushovd forward.
With two kilometres to go Team Sky had control once more, but Cavendish had dropped back to sit on the wheels of some of his rivals; taking up his familiar place from the three previous years, tucked in behind Rabobank’s Mark Renshaw.
Around the final corner Nikolas Maes (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) attempted to jump clear, but Team Sky had him under control. Orica-GreenEdge came past in force into the final kilometre though, with Tomas Vaitkus leading Brett Lancaster, who had Goss stuck to his back wheel.
With 200 metres to go Goss launched his sprint and the others began to fan out behind him. Farrar came past on Cavendish’s right, and the World champion - dressed in the red points jersey - jumped into the American’s slipstream.
Suddenly though, Ferrari shot from the left side of the pack to the right, and took Cavendish’s front wheel from under him. Miraculously, under-23 World champion Arnaud Démare (FDJ-BigMat) managed to swerve around the falling Manxman, and Elia Favilli (Farnese Vini-Selle Italia) managed to bunny-hop his prostrate form, but many others weren’t so lucky.
In amongst the tumbling sprinters was Phinney; the maglia rosa hit the tarmac close to the right hand barriers, and did not get up. The American stayed on the road for some time, although he was sitting up, and left the race by ambulance; his further participation in the race briefly uncertain, until he appeared for the podium presentations.
Meanwhile Goss continued his sprint, and managed to hold off the challenge from Haedo and Farrar, with Démare taking fourth ahead of Renshaw.