The fifth stage of the Giro d'Italia hit the famous Strade Bianche, which are unpaved roads that also feature in the Monte Paschi Eroica race. The rough nature of the dirt roads brought down Tom-Jelte Slagter and other riders today. Slagter had to abandon the race with a broken jawbone, while others were able to make it to the finish. Garmin-Cervélo's David Millar also crashed, albeit during an intermediate sprint where he wanted to pick up bonus seconds to consolidate his pink jersey lead.
Slagter hit the ground really hard and was transferred to the hospital in Ovieto. He broke his right eye socket and has a concussion. He also suffered an open wound in his face, which had be to stitched. The good news for the Dutchman was that a CT scan revealed no brain injuries. Slagter has to stay in hospital for observation at least overnight.
Immediately after his crash, Slagter was lying on the ground and didn't move. But medical staff, including the Rabobank doctor Gert Wielink, were there quickly and Slagter was conscious and able to respond to questions.
The incident happened about 15 kilometers from the line, when Slagter received a bottle from a Euskaltel-Euskadi soigneur on the side of the road. It is not exactly clear what happened, but the Basque team issued a statement regretting the accident and congratulating Rabobank to its stage win and pink jersey. "Cycling is a sport where values like companionship and solidarity are always honored. Our staff didn't hesitate to help and to offer him a bidon," the Euskaltel-Euskadi release said.
Millar came to grief when he tried to contest an early intermediate sprint. The Briton rolled across the finish line with a bloodied left knee, 2'50 down on stage winner and new maglia rosa Pieter Weening.
Millar said it wasn't the crash that made him lose the lead. "I was blocked today because I always suffer from allergies in this part of Italy," he said at the finish line. "I crashed, but I was able to get back to the front group. On the final climb, it was just impossible." Garmin-Cervélo can still dream of pink, with Christophe Le Mevel in fourth place, just five seconds off the lead.
The Farnese Neri team also had mixed news. While happy about Oscar Gatto's fifth place today, Andrea Noè and Francesco Failli crashed hard. Failli had to abandon, while Giovanni Visconti is struggling through for now, having severe knee pain.
Failli received 50 stitches, after he came down on one of the dirt sections. The team was worried for him for a while, with his injuries to arms and legs rather painful. But after a thorough check in the crowded hospital of Ovieto, no fractures were found for Failli.