Primoz Roglic was forced to abandon the Giro d’Italia on Tuesday, ending a troubled fortnight for one of the pre-race favourites on the Grand Tour.
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe leader Roglic left the three-week Italian race after being caught in a crash alongside Richard Carapaz, who was able to continue, during the punishing 16th stage, organisers said.
A five-time Grand Tour champion including the 2023 Giro, Roglic had already crashed three times in this year’s edition, including in a mass pile up towards the end of stage 14.
Roglic was three minutes and 53 seconds behind overall leader Isaac Del Toro before deciding to start Tuesday’s 203km push from Piazzola sul Brenta to San Valentino, which features around 4,700 metres of climbing including three category one ascents.
The 35-year-old had been one of the men to watch ahead of this year’s race but was left way off the pace after losing 90 seconds during the previous stage on Sunday.
“I don’t really think it’s realistic anymore to do the overall standings, I’m obviously fighting for survival,” said Roglic before the stage.
“I still came to the start today and I couldn’t even ride the bike yesterday, so I’ll just see if I can ride.”
Tuesday’s withdrawal is another major disappointment for veteran Roglic, who has had a quiet season so far apart from victory in the Tour of Catalonia in March.
It is the fifth time in his last nine Grand Tours he has failed to finish the race.
Two other riders were forced to withdraw on Tuesday, with Ineos’ Joshua Tarling out after hitting a guardrail.
More worrying was Italian Alessio Martinelli who plunged into a ravine after sliding off course during a descent.
Martinelli’s team Bardiani said the 24-year-old was conscious when he was taken away by ambulance and was in “stable” condition.
