Morabito toughed out Giro d'Italia with broken hand

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Supporting his team captain Cadel Evans all the way to Brescia meant that Steve Morabito rode the final week of the Giro d'Italia nursing a broken bone in his hand. The BMC rider fought through the pain after crashing on Stage 16 and continued to race over the following 1,000-odd kilometers and five remaining stages to ensure he was there when Evans needed him.

"I had a lot of pain, but I was focused on staying in the race because I knew that Cadel needed my help," said Morabito to Radsport-news at the end of the Italian grand tour.

Evans would eventually ride across the finish line in Brescia and step onto the podium for third-overall, 5:52 behind the 2013 Giro champion Vincenzo Nibali while Morabito rode valiantly to round-out his race in 34th place - as the team's third-best finisher.

Team doctor Max Testa reportedly informed the 30-year-old that surgery should not be required to heal the injury, his upcoming race schedule is not yet known.

The Swiss rider was not part of the BMC Tour de France squad in 2012 but he was included in the team that piloted Evans to a historic first at the 2011 Tour when he became the first rider from Down Under to win the French three-week race. Morabito has never completed more than one grand tour each year since turning professional with Phonak in 2006 and with his bones still on the mend, one would expect the fourth-year BMC rider to skip this year's Grand Départ.