Dowsett to miss the Giro d'Italia after removal of collarbone plate

Image 1 of 5

Britain’s Alex Dowsett will not ride the Giro d’Italia with the Spanish Movistar team after he was forced to undergo urgent surgery to remove a plate in his right collarbone.

Dowsett had the minor surgery in London on Thursday and will need several days off the bike to make a full recovery.

“The metal plate that was inserted to fix my broken collarbone started to show through the skin,” explained Dowsett in a statement from the Movistar team. “Because of the risk of infection, this had to be removed as soon as possible. They cut me open, took out the plate and six screws and stitched me up.”

Dowsett fractured his collarbone in a crash in January 2015, forcing him to postpone his UCI Hour Record attempt. Ironically next Monday marks the first anniversary of his successful ride on the track in Manchester, when he set a new benchmark of 52.937km. His distance has since been beaten by Bradley Wiggins, who covered a distance of 54.526km last summer.

Dowsett had been named in Movistar's 11-rider shortlist for the Giro d’Italia but will be unable to recover in time for the Italian Grand Tour, which begins with time trial in Apeldoorn in the Netherlands next Friday. The four-time British time trial champion will be back in training next week with Movistar suggesting he already set his sights on brand new goals for the summer.