Giro del Trentino crash results in rib fractures, Ag2r climber won’t ride Liège-Bastogne-Liège
Ag2r La Mondiale has confirmed that while the injuries Domenico Pozzovivo suffered on Thursday’s third stage of the Giro del Trentino will rule him out of racing this weekend, that they should not prevent the Italian climber from taking to the start of the Giro d’Italia on May 4th.
Pozzovivo crashed heavily inside the first ten kilometres of Thursday’s stage. He had been sitting thirteenth overall in the race and aimed to move closer to the pink jersey in the remaining two stages, but instead had to withdraw from the event.
“The Italian rider of the Ag2r La Mondiale team suffered non-displaced fractures of the sixth and seventh ribs,” his team announced this evening. “He also has an injury in the right elbow that required some stitches.”
It confirmed that he would have to withdraw from Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège, with an as-yet undetermined rider to take his place.
However there was some welcome news. “This injury does not affect, for the moment, his participation in the upcoming Giro d'Italia,” his team clarified.
That had been an area of concern after he fell, but unless there are complications it appears that he will be able to take to the start in two week’s time.
Pozzovivo won a stage plus the overall classification and mountains jersey in last year’s Giro del Trentino. He then went on to take stage eight of the Giro d’Italia and to finish eighth overall.