It's hard to know if Paolo Tiralongo's facial injuries look worse in these photos taken before and after he was cleaned up and stitched.
The huge crash in the footage below with just under 30km remaining on Sunday's stage 2 of the Vuelta a Espana will perhaps be remembered for Vincenzo Nibali's car-assisted chase that resulted in his disqualification from the race.
But his Astana team mate Paolo Tiralongo hit the deck much harder than Nibali, as these images show.
The shot above was posted by the rider on Twitter and reveals the extent of the facial cuts and swelling; with the stitching above and below his left eye enough to make anyone wince.
Looking pretty stunned immediately after the stage and before he was tended to.
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Tiralongo remounted after the huge pile-up and limped home in last place; 29:13 down on stage winner and new race leader Esteban Chaves (Orica GreenEdge).
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Having finished 8th overall in the race in 2009, won four Grand Tour stages including at the Giro earlier this year and been a pro since 2000, the 38-year-old Italian is a tough an experienced competitor.
And he has vowed to continue in the race once passed fit before stage 3 on Monday.
"Tiralongo is scheduled to start and will undergo more medical checks to his injuries before resuming the Vuelta a España," his team said in a statement at the time of writing.
The huge crash of Sunday's stage 2
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