Cavendish and Phinney taken down by Ferrari in Giro.

//Cavendish and Phinney taken down by Ferrari in Giro.

Cavendish and Phinney taken down by Ferrari in Giro.

Ferrari. Giro cowboy.

 

Tomorrow is a rest day for all the riders at the Giro d’Italia except one. For Roberto Ferrari of Androni Giocattoli it will be a Day of Hiding. In fact, he should keep an extremely low profile for the rest of the Giro — if he’s still in the grand tour after the UCI judges make their call.

In the sprint finale, the Italian veered wildly to the right, taking out Mark Cavendish at high speed. The winner of yesterday’s stage two went down hard taking with him race leader Taylor Phinney. The young man in the maglia rosa was driven across the finish line in an ambulance but avoided major injuries that would have forced him out of the race.

Ferrari was relegated to last place for his kamikaze move. It’s the the kind of dangerous and disrespectful sprinting that Tom Boonen spoke of earlier in the year. The Belgian said there were too many “cowboys” taking insane risks.

You won’t ever see Mark Cavendish cross a finish line at a lower speed. The World Road Race Champion slowly walked the last 100 meters, his Pinarello on his right shoulder. Expect a slew of disgusted tweets in about four paragraphs.

After the stage, Ferrari committed yet another dangerous move by failing to take responsibility for his actions. “I was doing my sprint. I didn’t see him. I don’t know what happened because it was all behind me, my foot slipped. I had to switch lines because another rider moved abruptly.”

Anyone who watched the overhead shot of the sprint knows that excuse is ludicrous. His manager Gianni Savio however was quick to try and make amends. “I will apologize to Mark Cavendish in the name of the team and in the name of Roberto Ferrari for the incorrect behavior that was not intentional,” said Savio.

The carnage could have been far worse and it was a sad way to honor the memory of Wouter Weylandt. The most amazing thing about the crash was the Farnese-Vini rider who bunny-hopped over the fallen Cavendish while going 75kph. A stunning display of bike handling skill and reflexes.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r84n6SMDKQQ[/youtube]

Cavendish has already called for Ferrari to be thrown out of the race. “Is the team of Roberto Ferrari or the UCI going to do the right thing? Other riders, including myself, have been sent home for much less,” he wrote on twitter. “Should be ashamed to take out Pink, Red & World Champ jerseys.”

Condemnation of Ferrai’s “irregular” sprinting was fast and furious. Brent Bookwalter, a BMC teammate of Taylor Phinney, tweeted: “People who do things like Ferrari today or Rojas at Gand Wevelghem should get 3 months.” Garmin-Barracuda’s David Millar was both disgusted and cynical in his twitter reaction: “What’s crazy about Ferraridiot is that it will be a surprise if the UCI throw him off the race.”

New Giro boss Michele Acquarone has spoken of a more “humane” Giro d’Italia. If that’s the case, then it’s time to boot Ferrari out of the race before he gets somebody killed.

 

 

By |2019-02-03T16:09:15-08:00May 7th, 2012|Uncategorized|8 Comments

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8 Comments

  1. Jace Gifford May 8, 2012 at 2:09 am - Reply

    Well, it looks like Ferrari stays in. His relegation to last place, time penalty, points penalty and 200 swiss franc fine seems like too little considering his irresponsibility.

    • walshworld May 8, 2012 at 8:31 am - Reply

      Have to agree. When it’s early in the first grand tour you have to set the expectations for the riders about what is allowed and not. His total lack of apology and recognition of his dangerous move really pushed it over the edge. He should be out. Matt

  2. Fritz May 8, 2012 at 11:08 pm - Reply

    It´s amazing to see you anglosaxians “defending” Cav and others so diehard, have you alla forgotten hiw irresponsible sprints Cav have done so far, ask Boonen and Häussler what they think when Cav sprints, Häussler haven´t reached his old form afer the crash in Tour of Switzerland in 2010, when Cav dragged him down into the pavement, Cav haven´t made an excuse for that move so far, will he ever o that. It have gone more than 2 years now.
    Cav should calm down and try to think about all the critisism he have recieced before he judge Roberto Ferrari ,, And Cav´s comment that Ferrari draged the pink, red and worldjersey clearly show how stupid he must be, it´s like that the leaderjerseys should have some priviligies??
    /Fritz

    • Jace Gifford May 9, 2012 at 3:26 am - Reply

      I’m certainly not defending Cavendish. You’re right, he’s had his share of irresponsible riding too. I think Ferrari’s erratic move in the final sprint was dangerous though, regardless of who he happened to take out.

      • walshworld May 9, 2012 at 8:27 pm

        Ferrari should be back in the garage. That was absurd and his lack of recognition even worse. Matt

    • walshworld May 9, 2012 at 8:24 pm - Reply

      I think it’s fair to say that all aggressive sprinters have made a few error in judgement. When I wrote about the Haussler incident I clearly said Cav was at fault. But your point is well taken. I was for throwing Renshaw out of the TDF and Ferrari out of the Giro. Matt

  3. Fixie Chick May 9, 2012 at 3:34 pm - Reply

    Actually Fritz yes, even without an obvious ‘patron’ the jerseys do indeed carry some weight even at this point of an event. Pink and red will be giving press conferences after the event and it doesn’t look so good if they are done from the back of an ambulance.

    • walshworld May 9, 2012 at 8:26 pm - Reply

      Right on Fixie. It’s interesting that riders talk about a lack of respect these days. That’s true in every sport and in any business these days. We live in a time of great desperation and riders and business people will do anything to win in the short term regardless of rules or reputations. It’s Lord of the Flies all over. Matt

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