Here's the nasty finish at the Scheldeprijs Vlaanderen in Belgium on Wednesday via Cycling.tv. It just amazes me that this doesn't happen more often.
The good news was that Alessandro Petacchi won his first-ever race in Belgium with this sprint. The bad news is that seven riders were injured, among them Robbie McEwen (who broke a rib and was treated for a suspected concussion) and Tom Boonen.
In the aftermath, the first rider to go down, Greg Van Avermaet, blamed Petacchi for touching his wheel and causing the crash. McEwen blamed Avermaet, who ran into him and started the chain reaction.
In addition to McEwen (Katusha), Boonen (Quick Step) and Avermaet (Silence-Lotto), the other cyclists who went down were Francesco Rivera (Amica Chips-Knauf), Vicente Reynes (Columbia-Highroad), Simone Cadamuro (Amica Chips-Knauf) and Martin Hebik (PSK Whirlpool-Author).
The US's Jeff Louder with BMC Racing joined a four-man breakaway that led for most of the race, and teammate Tony Cruz of California finished in fourth place.
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