Horrillo out of coma after crash

Horrillo has ridden for Rabobank for the past four years

Spain's Pedro Horrillo Munoz is out of an induced coma after falling into a ravine during Saturday's eighth stage of the Giro d'Italia to Bergamo.

The Rabobank rider is in a serious, but not life-threatening, condition after the accident on the descent from San Pietro halfway through the 209km stage.

Horrillo suffered broken bones and head trauma but should make a full recovery.

Columbia rider Kanstantin Siutsou broke clear to win the stage, but Danilo Di Luca retains the overall lead.

The Italian finished third, behind Norway's Edvald Boasson Hagen who won stage seven, to keep the pink jersey.

The first attack of the stage came 29km after the riders had left the start in Morbegno.

QuickStep's Dario Cataldo and David Garcia Lopez of the Caisse d'Epargne team made the initial move but they were joined by eight other riders.

They led by 90 seconds as they reached the summit of the first climb, Culmine di San Pietro, and stretched it to over four minutes on the descent.

But the technically challenging descent caught out Horrillo, who crashed and was found around 60m below his bike as paramedics recovered him from deep in a ravine.

He had to be winched into a helicoptor, which took him to a Bergamo hospital.

The Rabobank team doctor said Horrillo had sustained fractures to his thigh bones, kneecap and neck, as well as suffering a perforated lung and concussion. He was due to undergo an operation on his leg and knee on Sunday, but scans showed no sign of brain damage.

The leaders were allowed to stay out until 16km from the finish when the peloton swallowed them up.

But moments later, Siutsou, from Belarus, flew away from the pack and quickly built a 38-second lead.

The Team Columbia rider appeared to be fading as he rode through the cobbled streets of Bergamo, but he found one last burst of energy to finish 21 seconds ahead of the field.

"I live just 25km from Bergamo, parts of the course pass by there," said Siutsou.

"I know the roads by heart and I know when the best moment is to attack.

"This is my finest win and at the finish line, my wife, who is expecting a baby, was waiting."

Sunday's ninth stage is a 10-lap 165km race around Milan.

Britain's Mark Cavendish is among those tipped for the stage win.

Looking forward to that possibility, Columbia team boss Bob Stapleton said: "We hope that Mark can come out to play, and show again that he's the fastest sprinter in the world.

"The course suits him for sure and we'll try to win another stage and keep the run of success going."

---

Stage Eight result:

1. Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr/Columbia ) 5hrs 04mins 34secs
2. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor/Columbia ) +21 secs
3. Danilo Di Luca (Ita/Team LPR ) Same time
4. Michael Rogers (Aus/Columbia )
5. Franco Pellizotti (Ita/Liquigas )
6. Stefano Garzelli (Ita/Acqua & Sapone )
7 Damiano Cunego (Ita/Lampre)
8 Jackson Rodriguez (Ven/Diquigiovanni)
9 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita/Lampre)
10 Thomas Rohregger (Aut/Team Milram)

Selected others:

32 Bradley Wiggins (GB/Garmin) +21 secs
41 Christopher Froome (GB/Barloworld) +31
83 Charles Wegelius (GB/Silence-Lotto) +12.12
85 Ben Swift (GB/Team Katusha) Same time
104 David Millar (GB/Garmin) +15.36
128 Ian Stannard (GB/ISD) +16.11
144 Daniel Lloyd (GB/Cervelo Test Team) +16.41
156 Mark Cavendish (GB/Columbia)+19.04
189 Jeremy Hunt (GB/Cervelo Test Team) +19.04

Overall standings:

1. Danilo Di Luca (Ita/Team LPR ) 33hrs 13mins 35secs
2. Thomas Lovkvist (Swe/Columbia ) +13 secs
3. Michael Rogers (Aus/Columbia ) +44
4. Levi Leipheimer (US/Astana ) +51
5 Denis Menchov (Rus/Rabobank) +58
6 Ivan Basso (Ita/Liquigas) +1.14
7 Carlos Sastre (Spa/Cervelo Test Team) +1.24
8 Christopher Horner (US/Astana) +1.25
9 Franco Pellizotti (Ita/Liquigas) +1.35
10 David Arroyo (Spa/Caisse d'Epargne) +1.49