Yates managed to finish the stage, but teammates Soler and Vine were unable to continue.
Luca Bettini/AFP via Getty Images
The Giro d’Italia has been shaken by another huge crash, this time involving UAE Team Emirates riders Adam Yates and Jay Vine, along with more than two dozen others.
Vine was taken off on a stretcher into an ambulance, while Yates—one of the general classification (GC) favorites—remounted his bike and completed the stage despite visible facial injuries.
Yates crossed the finish line 13 minutes and 46 seconds behind the main peloton. His teammates Vine and Marc Soler did not finish and were forced to abandon the race.
Saturday’s stage was only the second of the three-week grand tour, covering 221 km from Bulgaria’s east coast inland, starting in Burgas and ending in Veliko Tarnovo.
The crash occurred on wet roads with 20 km remaining, as several riders lost control on a fast right-hand turn, and those behind could not avoid them. The riders slid at high speed into motorway crash barriers, many hitting the metal stanchions heavily.
Other prominent riders involved in the fall included Derek Gee-West, Santiago Buitrago, and Remi Cavagna. Uno-X rider Ådne Holter became the third rider to abandon after failing a concussion check. Bahrain Victorious later confirmed that Santiago Buitrago Sanchez also could not finish.
Race organizers initially neutralized the race for about ten minutes before restarting with 15 km left. Pre-race favorite Jonas Vingegaard immediately attacked on the following climb, with only Giulio Pellizzari and Lennert Van Eetvelt able to follow.
The stage ended in a bunch sprint, with XDS Astana’s Guillermo Thomas Silva claiming his first grand tour stage victory.
