Three weeks ago, Norwegian rider Erlend Blikra became the first rider to leave the Giro d'Italia due to missing the time cut, having crossed the line 37 minutes behind stage 11 winner Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) in Chiavari.
The Uno-X Mobility rider had been caught in a crash on the very first stage of the race, all the way back in Bulgaria, but soldiered on through the pain to the mid-point of the Giro.
Blikra had finished 168th, 165th, and 166th on the three previous days before missing the time cut by 1:31 on stage 11, and now he has revealed just what he was dealing with as he tackled the first Grand Tour of the season.
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Taking to Instagram earlier this week, the 29-year-old announced that he had suffered a broken rib and three fractures to bones in his lower back in the crash.
"Examinations after my crash on stage 1 of the Giro d’Italia have revealed three fractures in my lower back and a fractured rib. Not the answer I was hoping for, but at least the struggle now makes sense," Blikra wrote.
"The focus now is on recovery. That means no racing for a while, but I'll do everything I can to be back as soon as possible."
Earlier in the season, Blikra won a stage at the Tour of Oman and took four runner-up placings across the UAE Tour and Pays de la Loire Tour. He was the team's sprint hope in Italy, but the early crash put paid to any chances of picking up a stage victory.
Still, Blikra managed to sprint to sixth place on stage 3 in Sofia, and his Uno-X Mobility team experienced success later in the race.
Fredrik Dversnes was the quickest finisher from a four-man breakaway move on stage 15 in Milan, securing a stage win on the team's Giro debut.
Meanwhile, it was close but no cigar for climber Andreas Leknessund, who ended the Giro with runner-up spots on three separate days. His narrowest defeat came on stage 17 in Andalo, where he missed out to Michael Valgren by three seconds.
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