As riders prepare for another day of racing at the Giro d’Italia, the injury updates from those involved in the mass crash on stage 6 continue to emerge, with Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) diagnosed with concussion and fractured vertebra. The 2022 Giro winner was the most high-profile abandon on Thursday.
Whilst some riders climbed off during the stage, many injured bodies continued with the extent of their injuries only becoming clear post-stage and on Friday.
Most shockingly, Israel-Premier Tech’s Jan Hirt finished the stage with a fracture in his right thigh.
“Although Jan managed to finish the stage, he was immediately taken to hospital where a CT scan revealed a right trochanter (femur) fracture,” his team confirmed on Friday morning.
“Jan will be unable to continue racing and will instead return home to prioritize his recovery.”
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe confirmed on Thursday evening that Hindley was suffering from concussion, but the Australian provided an update on Friday morning, adding that he had a lower-back fracture.
“I went down pretty hard and have a slight concussion and fracture in my L3 vertebrae, but otherwise am all good,” Hindley wrote in an Instagram story.
“Super disappointed to have to leave the Giro and really hope everyone else who came down yesterday is alright. And wishing all the riders a good race, especially my Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe teammates.”
Hindley hit his head in the crash and appeared dazed, and was taken away in an ambulance on the instruction of the race doctors.
Other victims of the crash include Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Juri Hollmann, for whom “a broken arm is feared” but the team are yet to provide a further update, and Dion Smith (Intermarché-Wanty) who was suffering “strong hip pain” and couldn’t continue riding.
Josef Černý (Soudal-QuickStep) was initially reported as an abandon after climbing into an ambulance, but ended up continuing and finishing the stage, albeit with a bloodied leg. It’s not yet clear if he will start stage 7.
Like Hirt, another rider that finished stage 6 but won’t continue on Friday is Arkéa-B&B Hotels’ Michel Ries.
Over 30 riders crashed on the wet roads towards Naples, including Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) and Jan Tratnik (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). They all finished, but it’s likely that several riders will still be feeling the effects of crashing heavily.
There could still be more abandons as riders judge whether they are able to ride another day or not, and we will update this story and our Giro d’Italia abandons list as necessary.
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