Crashes hit Giro again

Stage 11 saw a series of crashes again hit the Giro d'Italia, following a crash-filled opening week. The biggest crash of the day was that of race leader Giovanni Visconti (Quick Step), who has reportedly been taken to hospital after the stage for x-rays.

As Visconti went down he took Levi Leipheimer (Astana), Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval-Scott) and Emanuele Sella (CSF Group Navigare) down with him. There's been no word on the result of Visconti's "I have a great fear," said Sella of crashing. "There was a tree [which could] have been much worse."

Team CSC also had its fair share of tangles on the 11th stage. The Danish outfit lost both Brad McGee and Stuart O'Grady on the same day last week with both suffering from broken collarbones in a fall.

"It was a really nervous stage and just about all our guys were involved in crashes," said Team CSC's Kim Andersen. "Nicki crashed and lost some time as a result, but like the others, who went down, he got off lightly without any injuries."

In addition a final corner crash by Fortunato Baliani (CSF Group Navigare) left Pablo Lastras Garcia (Caisse d'Epargne) with nowhere to go as Alessandro Bertolini (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli) rolled away to victory.