Australian cyclist Matt Goss has pulled out of the Giro d'Italia as he aims for some big results in the Tour de France and Olympics.
Top Australian sprinter Matt Goss pulled out of the Giro d'Italia after stage 13 as the GreenEDGE cyclist prepares for the Tour de France and Olympics.
Goss finished sixth behind British sprint ace Mark Cavendish at Cervere.
The Tasmanian was always going to make an early exit from the Giro before the three-week race has its decisive mountain stages.
Goss scored his first win of the season in stage three, but was brought down in a crash when he was in a winning position at the end of stage nine.
The June 30-July 22 Tour and the July 28 Olympics road race are the big goals for Goss.
He is an early nomination for the London Games road team, thanks to his silver medal at last year's world championships.
"We came here to get the team working well for the Tour, and it definitely is I think, so I'm really looking forward to July now," Goss told the cyclingnews website.
Goss also said he was suffering the after-effects of the stage-nine crash, but added sprint rivals such as Cavendish had been too good at the end of stage 13.
"Im not making any excuses - those guys were just quicker than me today ... when I had to accelerate, I just didn't have that pure punch I needed," he said.
Spain's Joaquim Rodriguez maintained the overall lead as Cavendish, of Sky, finished ahead of Norway's Alexander Kristoff and Aussie Mark Renshaw on the 121km run for his third stage win in this year's race.
For the 26-year-old Cavendish, it was a seventh stage win of the season and his 10th individual career victory in the Giro in his fourth participation.
Friday's triumph was also his 33rd career stage win in the three grand tours of Italy, France and Spain.
"The team did a good job but Geraint (Thomas) and the others lack a bit of experience," said the outspoken Cavendish.
"With a bit of time, our (sprint) train will be perfect."
He added: "I'm starting to feel good and my form's getting better. Yes, I think I'll get to Milan.
"To those who think I'm a bit fat, I'd just say that I won Milan-Sanremo at 23 and I became world champion at 26.
"I've won 20 stages in the Tour de France and 12 in the Giro (including team time-trials) and I'm only 26. What else can I say?"
Dutch rider Martijn Keizer had set the early pace, escaping for the fourth time in five days, where he was joined by Italy's Francesco Failli, and the duo built up a 5min 15sec lead.
However, the peloton steadily reeled them in, with Cavendish resisting the attentions of Goss as a mass sprint built up.
On Saturday, the Giro heads for its first day in the mountains, with a testing 206km run from Cherasco to Cervinia.
It boasts two stiff climbs at Joux and Cervinia, with the finish line at over 2,000m altitude.
"From tomorrow (Saturday), the peloton will be less nervous and there will be less stress," said Rodriguez, who leads by 17 seconds.
"Of all the finishes at altitude, it's the one at Cervinia that I fear the most. That kind of climb doesn't suit me very well. And the forecast is for bad weather.
"I'm expecting an attack from (Ivan) Basso, who said that his Giro would begin at Cervinia."
