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Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) survived to win a crash-laden 222km third stage at the Giro d’Italia on Monday that saw scores of riders hit the deck in a nervous, technical race around the flanks of Mt. Etna. While Europe’s most active volcano remained quiet, there was plenty of action on the road as wind and light rain thrashed the peloton in what was one of the few chances for sprinters in this climb-heavy edition of the Giro.

American cross-country mountain bike racer Adam Craig has his sights set on the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. That means for the next few months he will be battling it out on the World Cup and National Mountain Bike Series with his fellow Americans for a slot on the U.S. team. In between races, Craig skis, kayaks and is the rally car co-driver for his Giant teammate Carl Decker. VeloNews.com is along for the ride. —Editor

Retail: $1895 (steel Exogrid) Sizes: Five standard plus custom Availability: August Web site: www.titusti.com Titus Cycles is introducing three new cyclocross frames this year, the company's first venture into the 'cross market. Two of the frames feature Titus' Exogrid tubing technology, in which two materials are fused together, with the heavier material thinned or cut away in a grid pattern in the middle of the tube, to reduce weight.

Flying lessons at Green Valley TT in Auburn Washington

Mens D1 first climb at Collegiate Road National Championships

Tour of St Louis, Forest park Crit

Tiny Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, North Carolina, can finally say it owns the best collegiate road cycling team in the United States. After a series of near misses at collegiate cycling’s biggest race, the Bobcats finally grabbed the coveted Division I team omnium, squeaking by Fort Lewis College, 473-424. The Bobcats’ Andrew Talansky and Carla Swart also took home the Division I individual omnium titles — another first for the school of 900 students.

This team already had one pink bike, even before the race.

Jesse Bartholomew of CycleOps/PowerTap examines power and heart rate graphs from Slipstream’s time trial.

The DeRosa aero seatpost allows for lots of fore-aft adjustment.

LPR’s DeRosa’s all had straight Deda extensions.

The LPR teams was racing on new DeRosa prototype time trial bikes with a very deep aero seat tube and aggressive rear wheel cutout.

Felt labels the exit holes for the front and rear derailleur and rear brake cables to avoid confusion (Hooking your rear brake cable up to the derailleur would be no fun).

This single-position seatpost, seen on most Slipstream-Chipotle time trial bikes, is the old model from Felt’s B2 bike model.

Zabriskie’s stubby Fizik saddle is UCI legal and allows the rear part to be further forward while the nose is still behind the UCI-dictated 5cm back of the bottom bracket center. The two-position seatpost is Felt’s current production.

Millar likes his extensions very far apart, and he likes a double bend to them.

Millar’s bike is the full British paint job to go with his Goiburu-decorated wheels. As another national TT champion, Hesjedal’s has a similar Canadian paint job to match those of Millar and Zabriskie.

Slipstream-Chipotle mechanic Iñaki Goiburu made the wheel decals as a surprise for David Millar and David Zabriskie. He ran out of time to do Canadian ones for Ryder Hesjedal.

McGee uses the far-back adjustment on his Cervelo two-position seatpost.

Like many riders, McGee races with an SRM power meter built into his crank. SRM builds its units into Shimano, Campagnolo, SRAM, and Cannondale Hollowgram cranks.

McGee’s bar, which is identical to that of all of his teammates, demonstrates that CSC is one of the exceptions to the return to curved extensions. In a change from past seasons, where its riders had adjustability and varying positions, every CSC rider has a non-adjustable 3T aero bar with fixed, straight extensions.

CSC’s Bradley McGee’s Cervelo P3 Carbon bike is still the standard other TT bikes compare themselves to.

Gusev likes double-bend extensions. While a few years ago, most riders chose straight extensions, now fewer teams do.

Born on the 4th of July: Vladimir Nikolayevich Gusev was born July 4, 1982, and he rode this Trek Equinox TTX with distinction in the TTT, after being yanked from his vacation by the sudden invitation to the Giro.

Christian Vande Velde stepped off the Slipstream-Chipotle team bus Sunday morning along the beach at Cerfalù with a big smile on his face. Proudly decked out in the maglia rosa, Vande Velde was clearly enjoying his moment as the first American since Andy Hampsten won the 1988 Giro to wear the Giro’s leader’s jersey. “We hope today goes just like yesterday, but we know it’s a complicated stage,” Vande Velde said. “To win yesterday’s stage was our big goal, everything else is just icing on the cake at this point.”

Category 1 racer Ryan Barnett is recovering in an Atlanta hospital from a collision with a car on May 3. Barnett, who is the marketing manager for Blue Competition Cycles, was out for a quick spin prior to Sunday's Sandy Springs Classic criterium when the accident occurred, said Blue's Brady Rogers. Barnett fractured his skull, broke ribs and his pelvis and fractured his back in the T3 and T4 vertebrae area, Rogers said. He said Barnett has some paralysis from the waist down.

VeloNews staff and wire reports David Zabriskie’s 2008 Giro d’Italia ended Sunday when he was caught at a pileup with about 55km to go in the 207km second stage from Cerfalù to Agrigento. Zabriskie, 29, went down with several other riders as the peloton approached a railroad crossing. Zabriskie, who started the day second overall, was knocked off his bike and was unable to rejoin the pack. Doctors immediately attended to the reigning U.S. time trial champion and transported him to a local hospital.

Phil Zajicek (Health Net-Maxxis) and Mara Abbott (Team High Road) won the kickoff to the 2008 Tour of Colorado race series on Saturday in Boulder. The 9.14-mile Excel Sports Sunshine Hill Climb up Sunshine Canyon served up 3226 feet in elevation gain with a maximum grade of 23 percent. Conditions didn’t make the climb any easier, with temperatures in the low 40s under cloudy skies at the start and mid-30s with snow at the finish.

Cofidis rider Stephane Auge of France claimed overall victory in the Four Days of Dunkirk cycling race on Sunday. Norwegian Thor Hushovd, riding for the Credit Agricole team, won Sunday's sixth and final 128.4km stage between Coudekerque and Dunkirk in a sprint finish. Please check back soon for results.

Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval-Scott) uncorked a tremendous sprint in the final 100 meters to win Sunday’s exciting 207km second stage, but Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) snuck into fourth to short circuit Christian Vande Velde’s run in the maglia rosa by just one second.