As expected the first stage of the Giro d’Italia at the outskirts of Napoli ended in a bunch sprint but it was influenced by a crash which occurred at 2 km to go.
The victory of the 130 km opening stage was obtained by Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step), who also conquered the pink jersey.
Approaching the bend from via Cesario to via Nazario Sauro, some riders in the early positions of the bunch fell to the ground and so the bunch was split in two. Two dozen riders managed to avoid the crash and they battled for the victory in the sprint.
Unluckily for Team Lampre-Merida, Ferrari had stop for the crash, even if he was not involved, as he explains: "I was pedalling in a good position, also thanks to the support Pozzato had given me. In the bend, some riders went too fast. I had to brake and so my chances of obtaining a good result were over".
Scarponi completed the stage without problems: "I pedalled in the early part of the group all day long. I wanted to avoid troubles on such a fast circuit. It has been a very interesting cycling day and the only regrets for the team are Pietropolli's crash and Ferrari who missed the chance to battle in the sprint.”
Pietropolli crashed in the central part of the stage, suffering excoriations and a bruised arm but he is expected to continue the Giro in Sunday’s stage 2 team time trial.
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