Remco Evenepol crashed twice on the fifth stage. 2023 Giro d’Italia It was Wednesday, but it wasn’t the slippery conditions that first dropped the race’s favorites.
The 23-year-old Soudal Quickstep rider was already at the 152-kilometer mark during the 171-kilometer race when a dog on the pavement appeared to run into the roadway as the peloton passed.
Quick-Step Belgian rider Remko Evenepol (foreground) crashed during stage 5 of the Giro d’Italia 2023 cycling race, 171km between Atripalda and Salerno, May 10, 2023. (Luka Bettini/AFP via Getty Images)
The video showed the animals heading straight for the herd, pushing Evenepole into the ground. His teammate Davide Ballerini was also down after the crash.
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Evenpol returned to the race just two minutes later, but collided again with several other cyclists in the final sprint with less than two kilometers to go, according to Reuters.
“He has a lot of pain on his right side, a hematoma with muscle contractions and a problem with his sacral bone,” said Soudal-Quickstep team doctor Toon Kleit. “If you get proper massage and osteopathic treatment and get enough sleep, things will get better.”
Quick-Step Belgian rider Remco Evenepol crashed during the fifth stage of the Giro d’Italia 2023 cycling race on May 10, 2023. (Luka Bettini/AFP via Getty Images)
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“After a rainy day comes a sunny day,” Evenpol wrote in a Twitter update on Thursday.
“Yesterday was tough, but after a good night and the attention of the staff, I feel good today and look forward to tomorrow. Thanks to the team.”
Group of riders on 11 May 2023, stage 6 of the Giro d’Italia 2023 Cycle Race, 162 km between Naples and Naples, on the Varico di Ciunzi. (Luka Bettini/AFP via Getty Images)
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Danish cyclist Mats Pedersen, 27, won stage six on Thursday after taking the lead. He has now won stages in all three Grand Tours.
The Giro will end in Rome on May 28th.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.