A significant crash during stage 7 to Naples at the Giro d'Italia impacted a large number of riders and their teams and saw racing neautralised.
Though most of those involved, including a number of the general classification men, managed to struggle back onto their bikes and get going again, former winner Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) is out of the race.
The incident happened in a built up area, in very wet conditions, with just over 71km to go and with the breakaway men - Enzo Paleni (Groupama-FDJ) and Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarché) - less than one minute up the road.
The race organisation stopped the breakaway and the peloton on the outskirts of Nola to allow for a regrouping the peloton, not to mention team vehicles and paramedic support, before racing resumed again with 55km to go.
Advertisement
Related News
However, the racing will not count today from a general classification perspective, meaning no points or time bonuses at the finish. Indeed, there will be no time today at all towards the general classification and that has resulted in many riders sitting up.
A peloton formed of riders chasing the two-man breakaway, and going for the stage win. And there's also a second peloton - including race leader Mads Pedersen (Lidl Trek) - who are minutes down after sitting up and deciding to just ride to the finish; opting out of the slippery road conditions.
Ireland's Sam Bennett (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) is in the front peloton so he's clearly going for the stage win, of course. He has been going well this year, so this could be his day, especially with three-time stage winner Pedersen out of the equation.
More to come.
