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Alessandro Covi (UAE Team Emirates) was the first to fall on the wet descent from the Colla di Boasi, with 68 kilometres remaining on stage 11 of the Giro d’Italia, slipping out into a grassy verge.
The Italian’s fall left several Jumbo-Visma and INEOS Grenadiers riders behind him with nowhere to go, including podium sitters at the start of the day, Geraint Thomas, Primož Roglič, and Tao Geoghegan Hart.
Geoghegan Hart was the worst affected, hitting the deck hard and lying on the road before eventually being stretchered into an ambulance, his race over. It was later confirmed by INEOS Grenadiers that the 2020 Giro d’Italia winner has suffered a fracture in his hip during the crash.
"After further assessment, imaging confirmed that Tao had sustained a fracture of the left hip which will require surgery," the team stated on social media.
"I’m devastated this is how my Giro ended," Geoghegan Hart wrote on Twitter. "Thank you all for your messages and support. I was so excited about the remainder of this race and loving every minute of it."
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Pavel Sivakov (INEOS Grenadiers) also fell hard, picking himself up slowly before continuing on with the race. Ultimately he lost 13 minutes on the day, dropping from eighth overall to 23rd, well out of contention for a top general classification spot.
“It could be better, it could be worse, nothing’s broken,” said Sivakov after the stage. “I was in a lot of pain, I couldn’t jump on the bike straight away.
“We're still in pink, and that's what bring me the motivation to get going. I wouldn’t have forgiven myself if I didn’t try.”
After starting the day with five riders in the top eleven of the general classification standings and two of the top three riders overall, INEOS lost Geoghegan Hart from the race and Sivakov from the battle for pink due to one slip in the peloton.
Thomas remains the race leader, with Thymen Arensman eighth at 2’32 behind, and Laurens de Plus ninth overall at 2’36.
The Giro d'Italia continues with Stage 12 from Bra to Rivoli over 179 kilometres, and you can watch all the action from 8.30pm AEST on SBS On Demand and SBS VICELAND.
