Phinney, Cavendish both nursing injuries from Giro d'Italia crash

VERONA, Italy (AP) -- Giro d'Italia overall leader Taylor Phinney and world champion Mark Cavendish were nursing injuries Tuesday after crashing a day earlier.

The BMC team said medical exams on Phinney's injured right ankle revealed no broken bones. The wound required three stitches.

In a statement emailed to The Associated Press, the Sky team said Cavendish "suffered considerable road rash but his injuries haven't worsened overnight and he wasn't complaining of any serious discomfort during the transfer to Italy. The medical team will continue to monitor his progress throughout today, but we're confident he will be able to ride on."

Tuesday is a rest day before the race resumes Wednesday with a 21-mile team time trial in Verona.

Cavendish was the first to fall during the sprint finish in Monday's third stage in Denmark, after Italian rider Roberto Ferrari cut him off. The British standout won Stage 2 on Sunday.

Phinney was then one of about 10 to 15 riders who couldn't avoid the pile up.

"We'll take another look at his ankle later today and see how it's healing. It's definitely good that this happened before a rest day, since the transport and treatment process took so long," BMC team physician Dario Spinelli said in a statement overnight.

Depending on Phinney's condition, BMC could be among the contenders in Wednesday's time trial.

Phinney holds a nine-second lead over British rider Geraint Thomas of Sky, with Danish rider Alex Rasmussen of Garmin-Barracuda third overall, 13 seconds behind.

Phinney won the opening time trial on Saturday to become the first American to wear the pink jersey since Christian Vande Velde in 2008 and only the third all-time after Andy Hampsten won the race in 1988.

Phinney is not considered a contender for overall victory since he is not a good climber.

The three-week race ends on May 27 in Milan.