Bennati’s teammate Franco Pellizotti retained the leader’s pink jersey.

The 221km stage from Catania to Milazzo was loaded with crashes, the worst of them taking out CSC’s Bradley McGee with what appeared to be a shoulder injury. Joining him on the pavement today were Slipstream’s Magnus Backstedt and David Millar, stage-2 winner Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval-Scott) and High Road’s Andre Greipel and Mark Cavendish.

An early break by Jeremy Roy (Française des Jeux), Kevin Seeldraeyers (Quick Step), Riccardo Chiarini (LPR Brakes), Matej Jurco (Milram), Mickael Buffaz (Cofidis) and Pavel Brutt (Tinkoff) stayed gone nearly all day before being swept up with 30km to go.

Soon after the catch Tinkoff’s Vasili Kiryienka overcooked a corner and took down Backstedt and McGee, with the CSC man clearly getting the worst of it. All sanity left the riders , with attack after attack launched and retrieved before the head-bangers took over, shouldering one another this way and that, on the narrow run to the line, where Bennati — winner of two stages in the Tour de France and three in the Vuelta a España last year — was the fastest of the fast.

German veteran Erik Zabel took second ahead of countryman Danilo Hondo.

Stage 3 - Monday, May 12: Catania - Milazzo , 221km

Results

1 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas
2 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram
3 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli
4 Thomas Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner
5 Alberto Loddo (Ita) Tinkoff Credit Systems

General classification after stage 3

1 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas