Thomas Voeckler was involved in an 80-man crash on stage 4, and the pain in his left knee was hurting him more and more, so he decided to quit the Giro d'Italia after stage 7.
"It makes me really sad because it's my first time doubling up the Giro and the Tour, and I wanted to do something here, I thought I'd go for a stage win," he said.
As a world traveler, he's still happy to have paid a visit to Italy. "The start in Sardegna was absolutely spectacular. I'm also a professional cyclist for the purpose of seeing the world and enjoying such great places." The Bouygues Telecom rider should still be able to prepare for both the Tour de France and the Dauphiné.