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Giro star Petacchi cracks kneecap
NAMUR, Belgium (Reuters) -- Italy's Alessandro Petacchi has pulled out of the Giro d'Italia after fracturing his left kneecap during Monday's third stage from Perwez to Namur. The 32-year-old sprinter tangled with another rider 50 km from the finish and completed the stage 14 minutes behind winner and new leader Stefan Schumacher of Germany. X-rays showed the extent of the injury and Petacchi's knee was put in plaster. His Milram team said he would return to Italy on Tuesday morning and is likely to have an operation in the next few days. It is the worst accident of Petacchi's 11-year career. He is considered one of the best sprinters in cycling and has won 19 Giro stages in the last three years. Gerolsteiner rider Schumacher beat Jose Luis Rubiera of Spain and team-mate Davide Rebellin of Italy on the uphill finish to the Namur citadel. The 20-second time bonus awarded to stage winners meant Schumacher took the race leader's pink jersey from last year's champion Paolo Savoldelli. Schumacher has a 13-second lead over the Italian with Rebellin third another 10 seconds behind. "It's crazy to have won the stage and taken the leader's pink jersey but it's a great double," Schumacher told reporters. "I knew I could do well on the uphill finish but I didn't really think I'd win. I followed Paolo Bettini on the climb because he was the favorite and then went past him and Rubiera." "My wheels were slipping on the wet cobbles but I kept going because I knew I was going to get the pink jersey." Schumacher failed a dope test last June but it was overturned after he proved his team doctor had been given the wrong information by the Dutch anti-doping agency NECEDO about a medicine he took for asthma. The German missed most of 2005 because of the problem but won the Circuit de la Sarthe stage race in France last month. "I wasn't guilty at all and it was a difficult moment for me but now it's a great feeling to make such a successful comeback," he said. With little chance of overall success in the three-week Giro, Schumacher said his Gerolsteiner team would try to keep the pink jersey as long as possible. "This is my first major tour and I don't know what I can do on the big climbs later in the race," he said. "We're going to try and keep the pink jersey on Tuesday's last stage in Belgium and in the team time trial on Thursday in Italy." Tuesday's 193-km fourth stage is from Wanze to Hotton. The Giro transfers to Italy on Wednesday and ends in Milan on May 28. 
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