Masciarelli forced to abandon Giro d'Italia

Francesco Masciarelli (Astana) was forced to abandon the Giro d’Italia ahead of stage 17 as he is still suffering from injuries sustained in a crash following the summit finish at the Grossglockner on Friday.

The Italian was struck by a car door as he made his way to the team bus after the end of the stage, suffering injuries to his left side.

Masciarelli was prominent in the opening two weeks of the Giro in the service of his team leader Roman Kreuziger, and was lying in 15th place atop the Grossglockner. His injuries took their toll in the following days, however, and he had slipped to 36th overall by the conclusion of Tuesday’s mountain time trial.

After consulting with the team’s medical staff overnight, Masciarelli opted not to start stage 17 from Feltre to Tirano.

“At the end of the stage that finished at the Grossglockner, he was hit by a car door that was opened ahead of him when he was joining the bus team,” Astana team doctor Marco Pallini said in a statement. “He crashed and now suffers from the left side, especially in the leg and left shoulder blade. It is wiser he returns home to do an MRI and takes time to heal and rest because it is too painful, he can’t continue."

Astana’s leader Kreuziger lies in 8th place following a solid display during Tuesday’s time trial.