Cavendish slams Ferrari as pile-up takes gloss off Goss' Giro win

(CNN) -- A dramatic pile-up one hundred meters from the finish line during stage three of the Giro d'Italia paved the way for Matthew Goss to claim Orica GreenEdge's first Grand Tour victory.

The Australian crossed the line first after a nasty crash had taken out overall leader Taylor Phinney, from America, and sprint specialist Mark Cavendish near to the end.

Roberto Ferrari caused the incident by veering out of line and clipping Cavendish, and the British cyclist's fall caused several other riders to hit the floor.

Goss beat Argentina's Juan Jose Haedo into second while American Tyler Farrar claimed third place in Denmark.

But the major talking point was Ferrari's involvement in the pile-up, with Phinney, from America, being forced to have lengthy treatment in an ambulance on the home straight before making it over the finishing line in last.

Ferrari was relegated to 192nd place in the stage as punishment, despite protesting his innocence, but Cavendish took to social networking site Twitter to express his anger.

He wrote: "Ouch! Crashing at 75kph isn't nice! Nor is seeing Roberto Ferrari's maneuver. Should be ashamed to take out Pink, Red & World Champ jerseys.

"Is the team of Roberto Ferrari or the UCI (International Cycling Union) going to do the right thing? Other riders, including myself, have been sent home for much less."

Phinney, cycling for the BMC Racing team, maintained his overall lead of nine seconds from Britain's Geraint Thomas (Sky) with Dane Alex Rasmussen third for the Garmin team, 13 seconds back.

Race rules state that should a rider be involved in a crash in the final three kilometers of a race, he is awarded the same time as the main peleton.

"I feel better than I thought I would," Phinney told reporters. "Straight after the fall I was worried because my foot hurt.

"At first I was worried but in the ambulance they put ice on my right ankle and it got better, so much so that I managed to make it to the presentation.

"I'm calm, the danger is over, and thankfully tomorrow (Tuesday) is a rest day."

The day began with an emotional tribute to Belgian rider Wouter Weylandt, who was killed on stage three of last year's race.

When the action got underway a six-man group managed to edge out a three-minute lead from the main pack at one stage but the peleton eventually caught them up.

Cavendish was in a good position a kilometer from the finish line until Ferrari's intervention, with Goss crossing the line first.