Ventoso wins in Frosinone as Goss and Cavendish fall

Giro d'Italia 2012 stage nine photo gallery by Graham Watson>>

Spaniard Francisco Ventoso (Movistar) benefited from a final-corner crash which brought down Mark Cavendish and Matt Goss to win stage nine of the Giro in Frosinone this afternoon.

Ventoso was too strong for Fabio Felline (Androni-Giocattoli) and RadioShack-Nissan's Giacomo Nizzolo, but the outcome would have been different had the peloton navigated a sweeping left-hander 350m from the line successfully.

Italian Filippo Pozatto appeared to trigger the crash, as he ploughed into points competition leader Matt Goss going into the bend. Both fell heavily, which triggered a domino effect behind. Cavendish was the unfortunate victim, as he was left with nowhere to go as Nikolas Maes (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) and JJ Haedo (Saxo Bank) came down in front of him.

Garmin-Barracuda rode strongly to defend the maglia rosa worn by Canadian Ryder Hesjedal, who himself stayed out of trouble at the finish and crossed the line out of harm's way in an impressive seventh. GC rival Joaquim Rodriguez had earlier tried to use a tricky run-in to break clear, but his bold move was shortlived.

As the race heads towards the mountains once again, Friday's thirteenth stage from Savona to Cervere is likely to be the last hurrah for the sprinters.

Results

Giro d'Italia 2012, stage nine: San Giorgio nel Sannio to Frosinone, 171km

1. Francisco Ventoso (Spa) Movistar in 3-39-15

2. Fabio Felline (Ita) Androni-Giocattoli

3. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack-Nissan

4. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale

5. Daniel Schorn (Aut) NetApp

6. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha

7. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Barracuda

8. Matthias Brandle (Aut) NetApp

9. Manuel Belletti (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale

10. Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge all at st.

Overall classification after stage nine

1. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Barracuda in 36-02-40

2. Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Katusha at 9 sec

3. Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana at 15 sec

4. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Astana

5. Benat Intxausti (Spa) Movistar at 35 sec

6. Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale at 40 sec

7. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale at 45 sec

8. Dario Cataldo (Ita) Omega Pharma-QuickStep at 46 sec

9. Frank Schleck (Lux) RadioShack-Nissan at 48 sec

10. Eros Capecchi (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale at at 52 sec

Francisco Ventoso celebrates his stage win

Ryder Hesjedal still in pink jersey

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Giro d'Italia 2012: Live coverage

Giro d'Italia 2012 live text coverage schedule

Giro d'Italia 2012: Stage reports

Stage eight: Pozzovivo takes another Giro win

Stage seven: Hesjedal moves into Giro lead

Stage six: Rubiano solos to epic Giro stage win

Stage five: Cavendish bounces back for another stage win

Stage four: Garmin-Barracuda win TTT to take lead

Stage three: Goss wins in Horsens as Cavendish and Phinney crash

Stage two: Cavendish wins in Herning

Stage one: Phinney wins time trial

Giro d'Italia 2012: Photo galleries

Stage eight photo gallery

Stage seven photo gallery

Stage six photo gallery

Stage five photo gallery

Stage four photo gallery

Stage three photo gallery

Stage two photo gallery

Stage one photo gallery

Giro d'Italia 2012: Teams and riders

Giro d'Italia 2012 start list

Giro d'Italia 2012: TV guide

Giro d'Italia 2012: British Eurosport TV schedule

Related links

Giro d'Italia 2012: The Big Preview

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