Hindley suffers fractured vertebra in crash, Hirt (Israel) exits Giro with broken thigh: Several other riders also badly injured

Jan Tratnik of Red Bull BORA hansgrohe was the first to hit the deck, and in doing so brought down teammates Jai Hindley and Daniel Felipe Martinez. Hindley, the 2022 Giro winner, was left sitting in pain on the curb, and it quickly became clear he would not continue. The Australian climbed into the ambulance with injuries yet to be confirmed, while Martinez and Tratnik were able to carry on with minor damage. Team leader Primoz Roglic stayed upright but lost one of his key mountain domestiques in the crash.

This is a major blow for the German team. Hindley posted an update on his condition the day after the accident. 2I went down pretty hard and have a slight concussion and a small fracture in my L3 vertebra," he said bluntly on Instagram. "But otherwise, am all good. Super disappointed to have to leave the Giro and really hope everyone else who came down yesterday is alright." It's a nasty injury for the climber, who will be out of action for a while. Mikel Landa also broke a vertebra earlier in the race.

Soudal Quick-Step had already lost GC leader Mikel Landa on stage one and took more hits in stage six. Remaining sprint hope Paul Magnier was visibly in pain after going down, and trusted domestique Josef Cerny became the second rider to abandon following Hindley. Juri Hollmann (Alpecin Deceuninck) was also taken to hospital, likely with a broken arm. Dion Smith (Intermarché Wanty) called it a day as well.    

According to the race organizers, Mads Pedersen, wearing the pink jersey, also crashed, although the Dane from Lidl-Trek was able to continue. After the race, he complained of pain in his right hip after crashing at 65 kilometers per hour.

In addition to Hindley, several other riders in the GC also crashed. Adam Yates (UAE Emirates-XRG) and Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) could continue reasonably quickly, while EF Education-EasyPost were concerned about Richard Carapaz. The Ecuadorian's jersey was torn, and his teammates promptly surrounded him before continuing. According to EF, Carapaz crossed the finish line with only a few scratches and bruises, as did Gee.

Jan Hirt, Corbin Strong, Gee's teammates, and Carapaz's teammate James Shaw were also among the victims and were taken to the hospital after the stage. Jay Vine was less fortunate on behalf of UAE: the Aussie was reportedly withdrawn, although the RAI denied this shortly afterward. UAE Emirates-XRG confirmed a little later that the riders from that team who had crashed had got away with a few superficial wounds.

Movistar had its share of bad luck with Orluis Aular, Nairo Quintana, Jon Barrenetxea and Jefferson Cepeda all involved in crashes. Cofidis also saw both Jonathan Lastra and Anthony Perez go down. Other riders who hit the deck included Brandon Rivera (INEOS Grenadiers), Francesco Bussato (Intermarché Wanty), Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana), Florian Stork (Tudor), Afonso Eulalio and Matevz Govekar (Bahrain Victorious), and Felix Engelhardt (Jayco AlUla). Arkéa, Movistar, Cofidis, and Bahrain reported that their riders were okay under the circumstances, while XDS-Astana Fortunato and Scaroni had to be checked by the team doctor.

In addition to the riders who had already dropped out, another name has been added to the list for stage 7. Jan Hirt of Israel - Premier Tech was one of the unlucky riders involved in the big crash. Hirt managed to reach the finish line, after which he was taken to the hospital for examination. There, he was diagnosed with a fracture in his right thigh, which means he will not be able to continue in this Giro d'Italia.