Dan Martin’s team loses more riders at Giro after disastrous luck | Video | Sticky Bottle

*Dan Martin finished in the general classification group yesterday on a day with plenty of climbing but he lost two more team mates (Photo: Marco Alpozzi)*

Having lost Krists Neilands after the opening stage TT on the Giro d’Italia last Saturday week when he crashed and broken his collarbone, the Israel Start-Up Nation team of Dan Martin lost another two men on yesterday’s stage 12.

Former race leader Alessandro De Marchi suffered a crash and
has broken several bones. And Alex Dowsett, a double Giro stage winner and
former world hour record holder, has been forced out with stomach problems.

Dan Martin went into the race as odds on to make the top 10 overall and was an outside bet for the final podium. Indeed, his podium chances had gotten even stronger when he climbed with the best on the first stages in the hills.

However, Martin's GC chances suffered a massive set-back when he lost minutes to his rivals after being left behind during the first section of gravel on stage 11. Even with those losses, he is still 17th overall at 7:06 and he could still aim for the top 10 on the race and he will definitely seek to win a stage.

Because his GC chances are now damaged, the loss of two more team mates is not as catastrophic as it would be if he was still in the fight for the podium. But losing climbers like De Marchi and Neilands and big engine like Dowsett will mean he has considerably less support.

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Having started the race with eight riders and with a team leader capable of the final podium, the team will now have to re-calibrate. However, Irish climber Martin will still very much fancy his chances of a stage win before the race ends next Sunday week.

Andrea Vendrame (AG2R Citroën) beats Chris Hamilton (Team DSM) in a two-up sprint for stage victory yesterday after the duo had pulled clear of the remains of the breakaway that dominated stage 12 (Photo: Massimo Paolone)

At the end of yesterday’s 212km stage from Siena to Bagno di Romagna Dan Martin finished in the peloton of just over 30 riders. The bunch was trimmed right back due to the volume of climbing on the course, some 4,500 metres. The bunch was 10:14 down on stage winner Andrea Vendrame (AG2R Citroën), who won from the large breakaway that dominated the stage.

Nicolas Roche (Team DSM) was in a group just over five minutes down on the remains of the peloton. His team mate Chris Hamilton was beaten for the stage win and finished 2^nd. Roche’s team leader Romain Bardet made the general classification group yesterday.

Martin’s team mate De Marchi had been attacking to get into the breakaway but crashed early in the race and was taken away in an ambulance from the crash scene. He has been diagnosed with a broken right collarbone, six broken ribs. He also broke his first and second vertebra.