Adam Yates has pulled out of the Giro d'Italia and won't start stage 3 after crashing heavily in the mass incident on stage 2 and losing more than 13 minutes at the finish in Veliko Tarnovo.
Yates was one of five UAE Team Emirates-XRG riders to come down on the wet descent with 23km to go, and is the third to abandon from the team after Jay Vine and Marc Soler were taken to the hospital and were unable to finish the stage.
He was left visibly bloodied on his ear after the crash, which saw several UAE riders slide into a guardrail at high speed, and covered in mud on his face and body. Yates crossed the line 13:46 down on the stage leaders.
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As a non-starter in Plovdiv, Yates won't even reach the Italian portion of the race, having lined up as UAE Team Emirates-XRG's sole GC leader.
“Adam Yates suffered a heavy abrasions and a laceration to his left ear. He was initially assessed on-site for concussion and cleared to continue, but subsequently, he has shown delayed concussive symptoms. He will not take the start of stage 3 today" the team stated on Sunday morning.
“All three [including Vine and Soler – Ed.] are under observation of our medical staff and will travel home in the coming days to continue their recovery and rehab."
This is the first Grand Tour abandon of Yates' entire career, having completed the 16 he'd started before this year's Giro, seven of which saw him finish in the top 10 overall. 2026 was only his third time racing the Italian Grand Tour.
Before the race, UAE already lost their planned leader, João Almeida, after several bouts of sickness disrupted his preparations for the Giro.
Yesterday's mass crash came after a season filled with bad luck for the team, which won 97 races a year prior, with Jay Vine, Mikkel Bjerg and Jhonatan Narváez all being out for prolonged periods due to crashes at the Tour Down Under.
Following this, they lost Tim Wellens for the entire cobbled Classics after he broke his collarbone in Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. They are also without Isaac del Toro for the moment due to a leg injury he sustained at Itzulia Basque Country.
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