Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) has abandoned the Giro d'Italia after getting caught in a crash in the peloton on stage 11 of the race.
The British rider, who lay third overall at five seconds down on teammate Geraint Thomas, has left the race after going down 69km from the end of the 219km stage to Tortona.
He hit the deck along with maglia rosa Thomas, and Jumbo-Visma leader Primož Roglič on wet roads at the start of the long descent off the Colla di Boasi.
Minutes later, Geoghegan Hart could later be seen carried onto an ambulance on a stretcher.
"The Brit will head to hospital for checks and we will have further updates in due course," his Ineos Grenadiers team announced on Twitter.
Alessandro Covi (UAE Team Emirates) was the first to go down in the crash, sliding out on the wet road and leaving several riders behind him with nowhere to go. Thomas and fellow GC contender Roglič hit the deck before swiftly getting back up and on the bike, with Bouwman and Sivakov slower to get going.
RAI TV's on-bike reporter Stefano Rizzato later reported that Covi had suffered lacerations down his left side and was struggling to pedal.
Shortly afterwards, further down the descent, Movistar rider Oscar Rodríguez was caught in a horrible crash, colliding with a road sign and low concrete wall having lost control after contact with another rider at the front of the peloton.
The Spaniard went down hard and was forced to abandon the race after being tended to by Movistar team members at the side of the road.
With Geoghegan Hart and Rodríguez leaving the race, the Giro d'Italia continues with just 140 riders following eight abandons due to COVID-19 and illness before the start of stage 11 alone.
