The Slovenian top favorite Primoz Roglic must finally bury his hopes for another top result in the Giro d’Italia.
The star of the German team Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe crashed around 95 km before the finish on Tuesday at the rainy royal stage to San Valentino and gave up the race prematurely.
Roglic had already fallen several times in the course of the 108th Tour of Italy, in the overall classification the Giro Champion from 2023 had fallen back to tenth place. Roglic’s important helper Jai Hindley had already got out on the sixth stage.
For the Red Bull team, the task of the highly paid Slovenian is a huge setback. The racing team targeted the victory with Roglic. Last year the Tour de France for the four-time Vuelta winner ended after twelve stages due to several falls.
Heavy falls on the rain stage
Shortly before Roglic’s famous task, many cycling fans punched the breath. The Italian cyclist Alessio Martinelli fell heavily. The 24-year-old fell almost 100 kilometers before the finish on a descent and slid down an abyss across the street.
His Italian team announced on the “X” platform that Martinelli was taken to the hospital with consciousness. His condition is stable. Further information on his condition should be announced during the day.
Already 180 kilometers before the finish, the tricky weather conditions were noticeable. The British time trial specialist Joshua Tarling, who won the second Giro stage, slid against a guardrail on the wet road and had to give up injured.
On Wednesday, 3,800 meters of altitude are waiting for the cycling professionals. Friday and Saturday there are other stages with more than 4,500 meters of altitude. The 108th Giro ends in Rome on Sunday.