Cycling News
Italys Bennati holds nerve to seize Tirreno lead
MILAN, March 12 (Reuters) - Italys Daniele Bennati produced the perfect race to win the third stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico and take the overall lead on Friday.
The 29-year-old Liquigas rider used his team mates to position himself at the front of the pack with only kilometres to go and managed to fight off a late sprint from second-placed Alessandro Petacchi and Austrias Bernhard Eisel in third.
Lampres Petacchi suffered a crash in training and was only confirmed for the first big Italian race of the season the day before the start.
Germanys Linus Gerdemann, who held the leaders jersey after the first two stages, now lies four seconds behind Bennati in second with Belgiums Tom Boonen third.
A handful of riders in the main peloton crashed into each other minutes from the finish but there were no serious injuries.
The 159-km route from San Miniato to Monsummano Terme was shrouded in murky cloud and a series of puddles had earlier slowed the riders down.
Saturdays fourth stage is a 243-km ride from San Gemini to Chieti, the longest distance of the race, while organisers said in a statement they had been forced to change the route for Sundays stage because of snow on the Apennine mountains.
The race, which started on Italys western Tyrrhenian coast, concludes on the Adriatic east coast at San Benedetto del Tronto next Tuesday.
(Writing by Mark Meadows; Editing by Alison Wildey; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
Source: Yahoo.com
Subject: Racing