Basso and Bettini crash in Tirreno-Adriatico

Crashes have plagued all of the early season races, and stage three of Tirreno-Adriatico was no different. With less than 40 kilometres to go, a large group of were caught up in a wreck, including World Champion Paolo Bettini (Quickstep) and Tour de France hopeful Ivan Basso (Discovery Channel). While Bettini got through the wreck without injury, Ivan Basso went to the hospital after finishing the stage, complaining of wrist pain.

X-rays and examination showed no fracture, but according to the team's press release, it is still uncertain if Basso will take the start of stage four. The wrist pain gave director Johann Bruyneel a scare. He said, "It is very unfortunate what happened to Ivan, and I can only hope it is not too serious. It would be terrible if he would require a lot of time off the bike like we saw with George's crash in California."

Worst off in the wreck was Yannick Talabardon (Crédit Agricole), who went straight away to the hospital and was diagnosed with a fracture of his right wrist.

The crash comes just one day after three riders abandoned the race after crashing on stage two. Caisse d'Epargne's Iván Gutiérrez suffered a pneumothorax and Geoffroy Lequatre (Cofidis) fractured his collarbone in that accident. Moisés Aldape Chavez (Ceramica Panaria-Navigare) also abandoned.