Alafaci blames fixed gear cyclist for Giro d’Italia crash
Trek Factory Racing rider says member of the public rode into the peloton
Trek Factory Racing rider Eugenio Alafaci has blamed a member of the public who cycled into the peloton for the crash in the final kilometres of stage two of the Giro d'Italia.
The Italian rider took to Twitter and Facebook to vent his anger and claimed his Trek Factory Racing teammate Marco Coledan and the spectator on a fixed gear bike also down in the crash.
"If I get hold of the dickhead that had the brilliant idea of diving into the peloton on a fixed bike with 10km to go, causing us to crash…" he tweeted, adding a couple of angry emoticons.
He repeated the comment on his Facebook page, adding: "He also caused (Marco) Coledan to crash too. I think he’d get a lot of punches from Cole… You’re just an idiot!!! Unfortunately there are also imbeciles… Fortunately at Trek we’re not hurt even if Marco has lost a lost of skin… It’s better if we turn the page."
Other riders and photographers who were following the peloton did not see the spectator cause the crash but Alafaci and Coledan confirmed their version to several Italian journalists. Initial video footage of the crash did not reveal the initial cause or identify the cyclist Alafaci blamed.
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Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.