Hindley out, GC hopefuls and sprinters banged up: teams counting the cost at the Giro d’Italia

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.

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.

Race leader Mads Pedersen also went down, according to the organization, though the Dane from Lidl Trek was able to continue without too much trouble. The same goes for blue jersey wearer Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana) and Intermarché Wanty sprinter Gerben Thijssen, who both got back on the bike relatively smoothly.

In addition to Hindley, several other GC contenders also hit the deck. Adam Yates (UAE Emirates XRG) and Derek Gee (Israel Premier Tech) were able to resume racing fairly quickly, but there were some worrying signs at EF Education EasyPost regarding Richard Carapaz. The Ecuadorian’s jersey was torn and he was quickly surrounded by teammates before continuing. Jan Hirt and Corbin Strong, teammates of Gee, and James Shaw, riding with Carapaz, were also involved in the pile-up. UAE's Jay Vine looked to be worse off. Initial reports claimed he had abandoned, though that was later denied by RAI.

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).

To ensure a safe run-in and avoid further crashes in the closing kilometers, race organizers decided not to take times at the finish line and to cancel all points and time bonuses for the day.