Thomas lost focus for a moment and ran into the rear wheel of another cyclist and fell over. He panicked and screamed into the radio for a new bike as the bunch disappeared away.
For the first time in this year’s Giro, a proper breakaway succeeded. 19 cyclists set off, a group that was decimated to the finish in Sappada at 1,240 meters altitude after a stage of 157 km.
Andrea Vendrame won after smart skiing and was able to take a long-awaited victory in front of the home fans in the biathlete town.
“Last chance for us climbers”
The bunch of cyclists who are best in the summary had a quiet day in the saddle and rolled to the finish over 16 minutes behind the leader. Leader Tadej Pogacar rode up to the front to show that they would wait for Thomas who was having trouble getting hold of a suitable bike.
– We have great respect for each other and in this group no one wanted to pass Geraint that way. I hope he is ok after the unfortunate crash and we can have a great race tomorrow. Tomorrow is the last chance for us climbers, says Tadej Pogacar in Eurosport’s broadcast.
Saturday’s stage near the Slovenian border
He is especially looking forward to the stage that will be run close to the Slovenian border.
– There will be many Slovenian flags, smiles Pogacar.
After Pogacar’s initiative, there were no changes among the top 10 cyclists overall. Pogacar continues to lead by 7.42 ahead of Dani Martinez. Trean Geraint Thomas is 8.04 behind.
The finish will take place in Rome on Sunday.