No broken bones for Gonchar

By Anthony Tan in La Thuile

One of five riders involved in a crash early on in yesterday's 12th stage to Sestri Levante, Serguei Gonchar (T-Mobile), turned out to be one of the worst off, along with Euskaltel-Euskadi's Roberto Laiseka, the latter forced to abandon shortly afterwards. Despite falling heavily on his right side, though, Gonchar pressed on, but the crash prevented him from keeping up with the peloton on the climb of the Passo del Bracco, and he eventually finished the stage 13'40 down on stage winner Joan Horrach.

Following the stage, the Ukraine was taken to the Hospital of Lavagna where he underwent x-rays to check for any broken bones. However, the tests revealed there were no internal fractures or wounds, and the 35 year-old was subsequently discharged.