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Cavendish rockets to stage-4 win

By VeloNews.com
Published: May. 13, 2008
High Road's Mark Cavendish takes his first Giro stage win.
High Road's Mark Cavendish takes his first Giro stage win.
Photo: AFP

High Road's Mark Cavendish survived another chaotic dash to the line to win stage 4 of the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday.

Gerolsteiner's Robert Forster crossed second and Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) third. Franco Pellozotti (Liquigas) retained the overall lead.

"This is my finest victory," said Cavendish, whose teammates escorted him back to the front after a climb split the bunch with 20km to go. "It was the result of my team's work which kept me surrounded over the last 20km. The wind was blowing hard and Bennati went off at a good time, but I was able to follow him and overtake him.

Rik Verbrugghe (Cofidis) takes a mighty long dig in stage 4 of the 2008 Giro d'Italia.
Rik Verbrugghe (Cofidis) takes a mighty long dig in stage 4 of the 2008 Giro d'Italia.
Photo: Graham Watson

"In terms of the sprinters' hierarchy I reckon I'm among the best."

Pellizotti was pleased as well.

"I'm the happiest man in the world,” he said, adding that while he hopes to defend the maglia rosa in Wednesday's fifth stage, a 203km run from Belvedere Marittimo to Contursi Terme, the finale seemed better suited to Saunier Duval's Riccardo Riccò or LPR's Danilo Di Luca.

Today's stage, a windy, damp 183km drive north from Pizzo Calabro to Catanzaro-Lungomare, was marked by a kilometer-zero attack from Rik Verbrugghe (Cofidis), sitting 184th overall at 18:54. The Belgian built a lead of more than 10 minutes and stayed out front until Liquigas, Milram, High Road, Euskaltel-Euskadi and finally Quick Step started chopping away at his lead.

As world champion Paolo Bettini's teammates set a relentless pace on the final climb into Catanzaro, Verbrugghe's legs were leaving him, and he was swept up just short of the summit, less than 20km from the finish.

The Belgian said afterwards that it was the first time in 13 years as a pro that he had pulled such a move.

Visconti drilling it for Bettini with a wary Di Luca on his heels.
Visconti drilling it for Bettini with a wary Di Luca on his heels.
Photo: Graham Watson

"Monday night, on the ferry to Calabria, I heard my fellow riders talking about striking," said Verbrugghe, who has won three times at the Giro and once at the Tour. "So I thought, either I strike or I take off right at the start.

"It may be crazy, but to do this job, it takes a bit of madness."

Bettini and teammate Kevin Seeldrayers were among the riders launching futile attacks in the final kilometers, but the sprinters' teams would not be denied. LPR took a turn at the front, as did High Road, Lampre, Milram and Liquigas, grinding away into a head wind.

Liquigas led the way around a tight right-hand bend, hoping to launch Pellizotti to a second stage win. But then, as the sprinters uncorked the final dash to the line, Nick Nuyens (Cofidis) appeared to unclip in mid-pack, hitting the deck and scattering riders across the road.

The Cofidis rider left the race in an ambulance, and the preliminary diagnosis was a broken shoulder blade. Danilo Hondo (Serramenti PVC) also went down, suffering a contusion to his iliac crest (part of the pelvic girdle), while Nikolai Trussov (Tinkoff) picked up a nick requiring three stitches to his right arm.

Up front, meanwhile, Cavendish was busy collecting his sixth win of the season and his 17th win in 18 months as a pro.

"I wasn’t affected by the crash in the final kilometer, but I was back in 10th place," said Cavendish. "Fortunately Tony Martin did a perfect job and took me to third. Bennati went at the right moment, but I beat him because I’m younger and I’m quicker in the final 100 meters.”

Cavendish uncorks a win, his first in the Giro.
Cavendish uncorks a win, his first in the Giro.
Photo: Graham Watson

The plague of crashes in the first four days of racing has set riders' teeth on edge. Barloworld's Enrico Gasparotto said some of his colleagues "are not very smart, and they put themselves in places they shouldn’t be."

"They run too many risks; maybe they don’t have wives and kids at home. They don’t think," he added. "Is it more important to get to Milan with broken bones or to win a stage at the Giro?”

Bennati disagreed. "I don’t think it's a question of not thinking," he said. "When you race, winning matters. It's normal for this to be a war, and that some people take greater risks.”

—Agence France Presse contributed to this report.

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