With the dust settled, the wounds healing and the effects and repercussions of his wild sprint now clear, Italian sprinter Roberto Ferrari will seek to put yesterday’s crash behind him by making a formal apology to the riders he brought down on the Giro’s third stage.
Ferrari’s Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela team has indicated that the rider will follow the example shown by its manager Gianni Savio, who expressed regret yesterday for the incident.
It stated today that Ferrari didn’t realized the extent of what had happened. However upon viewing the TV images of the final sprint, it said that he has realized that he was at fault and had broken the regulations governing sprinting.
“Roberto Ferrari has expressed his desire to be able to apologize publicly with Mark Cavendish and the other riders involved in the fall,” it stated. With a team time trial rather than a typical road stage happening tomorrow, it is understood that the apology will occur prior to Thursday’s fifth stage, a 199 kilometre road race from Modena to Fano.
Apart from Cavendish, Maglia Rosa Taylor Phinney and at least four others hit the deck. All are expected to remain in the race after today’s rest day, with Phinney set to lead his BMC Racing Team in tomorrow’s team time trial. He received three stitches last night, but has avoided fractures.
Speaking to VeloNation yesterday, former world number one Sean Kelly said that it was clear on who was at fault and also what he needed to do.
“If you look at the head-on shots, it’s impossible to see. But then when you see the heli shot later, you can see the movement he [Ferrari] made,” he said.
“He definitely needs to put up his hand and say ‘look, sorry guys, I did make quite a bit movement from left to right.’ You have to be man enough to be able to do that.
“These things are something that happens in the adrenaline flow. On the spur of the moment, you make those mistakes and you learn from those mistakes as well,” he said. “If you put your hand up, then I think everyone will accept it.”
Ferrari will certainly hope this is the case. Kelly pointed out that many sprinters have made mistakes in the heat of the moment, Cavendish included, and that it was important for people to be able to move on.