The Spanish bike professional Mikel Landa (35) suffered a break of the eleventh thoracic vertebra when he falls at the giro start in Tirana. This was announced by his team Soudal Quick-Step on Friday evening.
Landa now has to “remain in a stable lying position for a longer period of time,” it said in the statement. Further examinations are to follow after a night in the hospital.
Landa, who had finished third at the Giro d’Italia in 2015 and 2022, caught it at a point on the first stage that was also doomed by other drivers.
The Frenchman Geoffrey Bouchard (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) also crashed and gave up the race. The Danish ex-world champion Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) won the first stage and took over the pink jersey of the overall leader.