Rain and cold stop Soler

Mauricio Soler's (Barloworld) abandoned any hopes of success in the Giro d'Italia after he withdrew from the race 96.9km into stage 11 on Wednesday. The Columbian climber had been suffering from a micro fracture in his left wrist.

The resulting pain forced him to climb off his bike after the first official feed zone. The steep climbs of the day's stage proved too much for Soler and the cold and rainy weather conditions made it even harder for him to hold the bars and use his brakes.

"There was no point him carrying on," Team Manager Claudio Corti said. "We wanted Soler to see if he could stay in the race but it was clear he was in pain and so it didn't make sense to suffer so much. We're really sorry for the team and for the Giro d'Italia but now our priority is to help Mauricio get better as quickly as possible so he can get ready for the Tour de France."

After being examined during the rest day Monday, Soler had planned to continue racing on a day by day basis.