You can quote me for saying yesterday that today's stage would come down to a massive bunch sprint, barring any "treacherous and unfortunate incidents." I think today's stage could certainly qualify as both. Alessandro Petacchi was almost the "last man standing", because of all of the bizarre crashes behind him. Earlier in the stage, a small crash involving favorite Ivan Basso occured after a stray dog ran into the middle of the road (reports say that the pooch was unharmed) and caused a small pileup. There was also another late crash, but this one involving stage favorites Mark Cavendish and Oscar Freire as they collided with a few riders trying to round a late corner. Still, after all this chaos, the field pushed on. This would not last for long, as the big one was coming soon. Most of the remaining contenders were halted or involved in a late pileup that was caused by fans being too close to the riders. There was another small crash on the way to the finish line, but somehow Petacchi was able to avoid all of the trouble.
There was no real change in the GC, with Cancellara keeping the yellow for another night. Fabian was halted by that incident, but it was within reach of the finish and he was not penalized
The severity of the injuries suffered today will be illustrated clearly by who is able start tomorrow's stage. The riders claim that they were ok, but one never knows until they reach the starting block.
You can quote me for saying yesterday that today's stage would come down to a massive bunch sprint, barring any "treacherous and unfortunate incidents." I think today's stage could certainly qualify as both. Alessandro Petacchi was almost the "last man standing", because of all of the bizarre crashes behind him. Earlier in the stage, a small crash involving favorite Ivan Basso occured after a stray dog ran into the middle of the road (reports say that the pooch was unharmed) and caused a small pileup. There was also another late crash, but this one involving stage favorites Mark Cavendish and Oscar Freire as they collided with a few riders trying to round a late corner. Still, after all this chaos, the field pushed on. This would not last for long, as the big one was coming soon. Most of the remaining contenders were halted or involved in a late pileup that was caused by fans being too close to the riders. There was another small crash on the way to the finish line, but somehow Petacchi was able to avoid all of the trouble. 
There was no real change in the GC, with Cancellara keeping the yellow for another night. Fabian was halted by that incident, but it was within reach of the finish and he was not penalized
The severity of the injuries suffered today will be illustrated clearly by who is able start tomorrow's stage. The riders claim that they were ok, but one never knows until they reach the starting block. 
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