Italy's Daniele Bennati scored a Giro d'Italia hat trick on Thursday with this third win in 12 stages, with 9 stages remaining in the three-week tour.
The 27-year-old sprinter for Liquigas beat Team High Road's Mark Cavendish in a photo finish, both slightly ahead of Australia's Robbie McEwen of Silence-Lotto.
Bennati's dominance this year is amazing, considering that he's in his 7th year as a pro and he had never before won at the Giro.
Last year was definitely Bennati's break-out year, though, as he was two stages of the Tour de France and three stages of the Vuelta a Espana as a rider on Lampre.
Could the results be different if Alessandro Petacchi were in the peloton? He has 24 stage wins at the Giro (nine in 2004 alone) and was expecting more this year until the Court of Arbitration for Sport banned him until August and Team Milram fired him. (Why he was banned.)
We'll never know. Bennati won in Stage 3 by catching the Milram train and outgunning Erik Zabel at the finish in Milazzo. He also won Stage 9 in a tight sprint against countryman Paolo Bettini in San Vincenzo.
The overall leaders remain unchanged after the 106-mile race from Forli to Carpi, with Giovanni Visconti of Quick Step holding a 5:50 lead over Gabriele Bosisio of LPR Brakes.
Don't expect any changes in the overall leaders on Friday either, as the 109-mile Stage 13 is a dead-flat ride from Modena to Cittadella.
Overall Top 10:
1. Giovanni Visconti (ITA), Quick Step
2. Gabriele Bosisio (ITA), Team L.P.R., at 5:50 behind
3. Alberto Contador (ESP), Astana, at 6:59
4. Marzio Bruseghin (ITA), Lampre, at 7:52
5. Andreas Kloden (GER), Astana, at 7:54
6. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), Liquigas, at 8:04
7. Paolo Savoldelli (ITA), Team L.P.R., at 8:09
8. Riccardo Ricco' (ITA), Saunier Duval, at 8:32
9. Danilo Di Luca (ITA), Team L.P.R., at 8:33
10. Erik Larsson Gustav (SWE), CSC, ditto
More details at CyclingNews or VeloNews.
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