BMC's Butler forced to abandon debut Giro d'Italia

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Chris Butler's Giro d'Italia debut has come to an unfortunate end, diagnosed with a hairline fracture of his right pelvic bone.

The BMC neo-pro crashed on Monday's 173km third stage between Reggio Emilia and Rapallo, however still managed to finish only 1:40 down on stage winner Angel Vicioso (Androni Giocatolli). The stage was overshadowed by the tragic death of Leopard Trek's Wouter Weylandt.

Butler raced on with x-rays taken following Saturday's 217km stage revealing the full extent of his injury.

BMC Racing Team Chief Medical Officer Dr. Max Testa said Butler did not want to stop. "But it would be worse if he crashes again, and, because of the pain, he was riding completely twisted," Testa said.

"We'll keep him off the bike for a few days, the put him on a rehabilitation program and hopefully he'll be back in a few weeks."