Big time losses for GC contenders at Giro d'Italia

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The Giro d’Italia saw its first big shake-up in the general classification well before we expected it. A huge crash, as the peloton entered a roundabout, all but ended the overall ambitions of a number of riders.

As Cadel Evans and his BMC team pressed on, there were a number of big names already heading back to the drawing board. Joaquim Rodríguez (Katusha) was already significantly down in the general classification, after his team started badly with the team time trial. He lost a further 7:43 en route to Montecassino. The Spaniard looked in trouble as he trailed behind the bunch and it was later reported that he may have broken something in the fall. It’s not totally lost for Katusha, with Daniel Moreno making it into the second group on the road and with a slim chance overall in the GC.

Nairo Quintana (Movistar) also saw the pink jersey goal posts moved further away. His team did a valiant job of chasing on, but it became a job of damage limitation fairly quickly. He rolled across the line 49 seconds back on Evans, along with Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R La Mondiale), Rigoberto Uran (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), Ivan Basso (Cannondale), Wilco Kelderman (Belkin) and Moreno.

Astana had another terrible day, with several of their riders coming down in that crash. Janez Brajkovic took a hefty tumble and stayed on the ground for a long time. His teammate and team leader Michele Scarponi finished 1:37 down on Matthews.

There was also some confusion on the finish line in the Tinkoff-Saxo camp, as Rafal Majka finished on Jay McCarthy’s bike. Majka came home on the Quintana group, but his teammate Nicolas Roche was less fortunate. He finished the stage over 15 minutes down. Julian Arredondo (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) crossed the line 18:30 down.

How the GC contenders stand after stage 6