Primoz Roglic leaves Giro d'Italia after another crash in stage 16; Richard Carapaz also crashes

"I don't care; it is what it is. As I said, I'm just going to try. I'll go for it if I can see that I can do it. Otherwise, every kilometer will be difficult," Roglic said at the start. "I don't think it's realistic to go for the GC. As I said, I'm fighting to survive. I did come to the start, but I couldn't sit on the bike yesterday. I'll see if I can stay on the bike."

In the end, that was not the case, although according to RAI, a new crash contributed to that. Roglic reportedly crashed along with Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) and others and then got into a car, which was confirmed shortly afterward by the Giro organization. Earlier, Joshua Tarling (INEOS Grenadiers) and Alessio Martinelli (VF Group-Bardiani) had already abandoned the race after crashes in the sixteenth stage.

Tarling crashed into a barrier in the opening phase, while Martinelli slid under a barrier and into the ravine. The Italian fell about 10 to 15 meters and briefly lost consciousness but is now recovering and receiving medical treatment.

For Roglic, it was already his fourth crash in this Giro. The Slovenian had previously crashed in the gravel stage and Saturday's stage in his home country of Slovenia, while he also crashed during the recon of the second time trial in Pisa. On Sunday, the Giro's top favorite lost a lot of time, after which his team, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, had no choice but to admit that he was not doing well.

Adam Blythe saw it happen on behalf of Eurosport. "This crash was one too many. We didn't see much wrong with him, but his body has already suffered a lot."