Vande Velde withdraws from Giro, Armstrong moves into fifth place

VALDOBBIADENE, Italy (AP) -- Alessandro Petacchi of Italy won his second straight stage in the Giro d'Italia on Monday and took the overall lead from Mark Cavendish of Britain.

Lance Armstrong, competing in his first Giro, finished in the main pack in 50th place, with the same time as Petacchi. The seven-time Tour de France winner advanced to fifth place from 10th overall, 31 seconds behind Petacchi.

"I just tried to stay out of trouble again," Armstrong said. "We had another dangerous circuit. The best place to be is in the front if you can, avoid the crashes, avoid the things we saw today. I heard a couple but missed them all, thank goodness."

Petacchi beat Tyler Farrar of the United States and Francesco Gavazzi of Italy in a sprint finish to end the 123-mile third stage and claim the leader's pink jersey.

American rider Christian Vande Velde withdrew from the race after breaking two ribs, and bruising and spraining his back in a fall at the 87th mile. Countryman and Garmin-Slipstream teammate David Zabriske also fell on the downhill run. Zabriskie got back on his bike and rejoined the pack, but Vande Velde stayed on the ground and was taken to a hospital.

Petacchi completed the leg from Grado to Valdobbiadene at the foot of the Dolomite Range in 4 hours, 45 minutes, 27 seconds. Farrar and Gavazzi finished with the same time.

A crash in the final miles divided the main pack, and Cavendish was caught behind. He finished 1 minute, 25 seconds behind Petacchi.

Danilo Di Luca, the 2007 Giro winner, sits sixth overall, nine seconds behind Armstrong. Race favorite Ivan Basso is 24th, 40 seconds behind Armstrong. Russia's Denis Menchov, with aspirations for winning the Giro, lost 24 seconds because of the crash.

Armstrong gained time on Basso in Sunday's second stage when the Italian got caught behind a crash in the final miles.

"The bike races are going faster now with the surfaces of the roads, the equipment, the way that the wheels roll now," Armstrong said. "I think we have to evaluate in the future how we do the finales. With 200 fit guys and fast bikes it's hard."

Armstrong returned this season after 31/2 years of retirement and broke his collarbone in a crash in March. His teammate Fabio Casartelli died in a downhill crash during the 1995 Tour de France.

"In less than a second your career can change -- your life can change. I mean I've seen all examples," Armstrong said. "I've seen somebody die. I've seen somebody lose a career and I've seen somebody lose a season."

The mountains begin Tuesday, with an uphill finish to San Martino di Castrozza after a 100-mile ride that starts in Padua. The race ends May 31 in Rome.

Monday's stage began along the northeast coast, moved up to the city of Udine and then swung west over a few minor hills to Valdobbiadene, ending with a short circuit.

Five riders -- Giuseppe Palumbo, Yuriy Krivtsov, Mauro Facci, Mikhail Ignatiev and Bjorn Schroeder -- broke away from the pack after 3.7 miles, establishing a seven-minute lead at one point. They were caught well before the finish.

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