Giro d'Italia: Roberto Ferrari to apologise to Cavendish and Phinney for Monday's crash

Roberto Ferrari, the Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela rider whose sudden change of direction during the sprint in Stage 3 of the Giro d'Italia in Horsens in Denmark on Monday caused a crash that resulted in Mark Cavendish suffering road rash down the left-hand side of his body and also left maglia rosa Taylor Phinney nursing a swollen ankle, is set to formally apologise to the pair for his actions ahead of tomorrow's Stage 5 which begins in Modena. Ironically, the sign-on for that stage is at the birthplace of none other than Enzo Ferrari - the cars that bear his name are still made in nearby Maranello.

Both Phinney and Cavendish are set to ride in today's team time trial as the race resumes on Italian soil in Verona, although with a much earlier start time, Ferrari's team will be on the way to their hotel by the time Team Sky and BMC Racing take to the road.

Today's stage will be a less than comfortable experience for both riders - yesterday, Cavendish tweeted pictures of his battered body as he headed for a shower, while Phinney, who appeared on the Stage 3 podium as race leader with his right ankle heavily strapped, was in hospital in Italy later that evening after the transfer by plane till well gone midnight as he continued to receive treatment. Both would have welcomed yesterday's rest day.

Ferrari was heavily criticised by a number of riders following Monday's incident, in which he changed direction suddenly and sharply, taking out Cavendish's front wheel. The Italian himself stayed upright, finishing fourth as Orica-GreenEdge's Matt Goss won the stage, and while he was relegated from the standings, he has been allowed to stay in the race.

Immediately after the stage, Ferrari had given the impression that he didn't care too much about what was happening behind him, although according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, he decided to apolgise after studying footgae of the incident and realising he was wrong - his decision no doubt encouraged by a bit of prodding from team manager Gianni Savio.

The Italian sports daily also highlights today the role that two other riders played in ensuring that the incident, on a day the Giro remembered Wouter Weylandt, didn't have much more serious consequences for Cavendish - FDJ's 20-year-old sprinter Arnaud Demare, who employed fantastic bike-handling skills to swerve at high speed and avoid colliding with the world champion's head, plus Farnese Vini's 23-year-old rider, Elia Favelli, an ex-mountain biker who bunnyhopped over the world champion at the critical moment.

The starting order for today's team time trial, with timings shown in British Summer Time, is as follows:

14:25 - Ag2r La Mondiale
14:28 - Euskaltel-Euskadi
14:31 - Androni Giocattoli
14:34 - Lampre-ISD
14:37 - Lotto-Belisol
14:40 - Colnago-CSF Inox
14:43 - FDJ-Big Mat
14:46 - Farnese Vini
14:49 - Katusha
14:52 - Movistar
14:55 - NetApp
14:58 - Rabobank
15:01 - Saxo Bank
15:04 - Liquigas-Cannondale
15:07 - Astana
15:10 - Omega Pharma-QuickStep
15:13 - Vacansoleil-DCM
15:16 - Team Sky
15:19 - Radioshack-Nissan
15:22 - Orica-GreenEdge
15:25 - Garmin-Barracuda
15:28 - BMC Racing Team