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MILAZZO, Italy, May 12, 2008 (AFP) - Italian cyclist Daniele Bennati won an eventful third stage of the Tour of Italy here on Monday to record his first ever success in the race on a day marked by a series of heavy spills.

His Liquigas team-mate Franco Pellizotti retained the overall leader’s pink jersey after this 221km run skirting mount Etna.

Bennati - winner of two stages in the Tour de France and three in the Tour of Spain last year - edged out German veteran Erik Zabel in a sprint finish, with Zabel’s compatriot Danilo Hondo in third.

However, the stage saw the end of Australian rider Bradley McGee’s challenge as the 32-year-old - who wore the pink jersey for two days in the 2004 Giro - took a crashing fall around 20 kilometers from the finish.

McGee suffered a fractured collarbone, his CSC team reported.

Another of CSC’s Australian riders, Stuart O’Grady, picked up an identical injury from a separate fall and despite struggling on to cross the finish line the winner of the 2007 Paris-Roubaix has had to pull out of the race.

Another group crash involved Sunday’s stage winner Riccardo Ricco, but the Italian was able to resume despite suffering a suspected fracture of the index finger of his left hand.

Bennati was far from complimentary about Monday’s circuit.

“I’d prefer not to talk about it as I’d only be too harsh on it. What I will say is that we all saw dangerous roads that suddenly narrowed, with railings along the roadside, and so on and so on,” the 27-year-old complained.

The Giro moves from Sicily to the Italian mainland on Tuesday with the fourth stage, a 183km ride from Pizzo Calabro to Catanzaro lungomare.

Results from the third stage of the Giro d’Italia, held over 221km between Catania and here on Monday:

1. Daniele Bennati (ITA/LIQ) 5hr 37min 01sec, 2. Erik Zabel (GER/MRM) at s.t., 3. Danilo Hondo (GER/SDA) s.t., 4. Thomas Fothen (GER/GST) s.t., 5.
Alberto Loddo (ITA/TCS) s.t., 6. Koldo Fernandez (ESP/EUS) s.t., 7. Tiziano Dall’Antonia (ITA/CSF) s.t., 8. Marlon Perez (COL/GCE) s.t., 9. Mark Cavendish
(GBR/THR) s.t., 10. Oscar Gatto (ITA/GST) s.t., 11. Luciano Pagliarini
(BRA/SDV) s.t., 12. Robert Förster (GER/GST) s.t., 13. Yauheni Hutarovich
(BLR/FDJ) s.t., 14. Alexander Serov (RUS/TCS) s.t., 15. Mickael Cherel
(FRA/FDJ) s.t., 16. Mathew Hayman (AUS/RAB) s.t., 17. Lilian Jegou (FRA/FDJ) s.t., 18. Ryder Hesjedal (CAN/TSL) s.t., 19. Guillaume Levarlet (FRA/FDJ) s.t., 20. Luis Pasamontes (ESP/GCE) s.t.
Selected
28. Robbie McEwen (AUS/SIL) s.t., 29. Paolo Bettini (ITA/QST) s.t.

Overall standings
1. Franco Pellizotti (ITA/LIQ) 11hr 52min 17sec, 2. Christian Vande Velde
(USA/TSL) at 0:01, 3. Danilo Di Luca (ITA/LPR) 0:07, 4. Morris Possoni
(ITA/THR) 0:08, 5. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA/LIQ) 0:08, 6. Nicki Sörensen (DEN/CSC) 0:17, 7. Kanstantsin Siutsou (BLR/THR) 0:18, 8. Paolo Savoldelli (ITA/LPR) 0:19, 9. Andrea Noe (ITA/LIQ) 0:22, 10. Enrico Gasparotto (ITA/BAR) 0:25, 11.
Francesco Bellotti (ITA/BAR) 0:25, 12. Gustav Larsson (SWE/CSC) 0:28, 13.
Andreas Kloden (GER/AST) 0:28, 14. Christian Pfannberger (AUT/BAR) 0:28, 15.
Marco Pinotti (ITA/THR) 0:29, 16. Alberto Contador (ESP/AST) 0:30, 17. Daniele Bennati (ITA/LIQ) 0:32, 18. Riccardo Ricco (ITA/SDV) 0:33, 19. Vladimir Miholjevic (CRO/LIQ) 0:36, 20. Davide Rebellin (ITA/GST) 0:37
Selected
23. Levi Leipheimer (USA/AST) 0:40, 70. Erik Zabel (GER/MRM) 2:03, 76.
David Millar (GBR/TSL) 2:14, 153. Robbie McEwen (AUS/SIL) 12:49, 161. Stuart O’Grady (AUS/CSC) 13:21