Italian Riccardo Ricco of the Saunier Duval team threw down the gauntlet to his rivals for the Giro d'Italia's pink jersey by sprinting to victory in the second stage here Sunday. Liquigas rider Franco Pellizotti took the race lead from American Christian Vandevelde of Slipstream.
Vandevelde, who on Saturday became the first American to wear the pink jersey since Andy Hampsten won the 1988 Giro, was left trailing on the climb leading to the finish line of the 207km stage which crossed from north to southern Sicily. The American is now 01sec behind the Italian with Denmark's Chris Sorensen third overall at 07. Zabriskie, a former wearer of the Tour de France yellow jersey, in 2005, was taken to hospital to undergo tests.