Cavendish crashes out of stage three contention

A crash in the last ten kilometres of stage three of the Giro d'Italia put paid to Manx cyclist Mark Cavendish's hopes of a second success in three days.

The stage was won by Allesandro Petacchi after a bunch sprint to the finish line and, following his victory in Sunday's second stage, the Italian sprint specialist has taken over the leader's pink jersey from Cav.

The crash was near the front of the Peloton and affected a number of riders, but Cavendish will be back in the saddle for tomorrow's fourth stage.