It may only be the second day of the 2023 WorldTour but already the crashes and injuries are piling up at the Tour Down Under, with numerous riders falling on the first road stage of the race and two having to abandon.
After a wet opening prologue which saw several riders hit the deck on slippery corners in downtown Adelaide, the 150km stage 1 in Tanunda was no different with several small crashes early on followed by a more crash in the sprint.
Robert Gesink (Jumbo-Visma) was the first rider to leave the race after crashing hard. He and teammates Timo Roosen and Tim van Dijke were also caught up in a crash at the side of the road 25km from the line, with the veteran Dutch rider unable to continue after hitting his head and hip on the ground.
"We can only conclude that this is a bad day for the team," directeur sportif Addy Engels said after the stage.
"The loss of Robert is a significant setback. The crash appeared to be pretty bad. It quickly became obvious that he could not continue.
"He is doing well, fortunately, given the circumstances, but we must monitor him closely. Before we create a thorough strategy for tomorrow's stage, we must first recover from this tough day."
Gesink later gave an update on his Instagram page, confirming that he had suffered a broken pelvis in the crash.
"Not how I had hoped for our time in Australia to end," Gesink wrote. "An unfortunate crash because of getting taken out left me with a broken pelvis and a whole of a lot less skin than this morning. Back with the family now."
It's far from the first serious injury the 36-year-old has suffered during his pro career. In September 2011 he fractured his femur in a training crash and faced a long spell of rehab through the winter, while a crash at Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2019 saw him miss the summer's racing with a broken pelvis and collarbone.
He'll likely miss a similar amount of time – around three months – again this time around.
There would be more carnage to come on the run to the sprint finish, too, as several riders hit the ground hard in the finale. Chris Harper (Jayco-AlUla) was the worst off of those who did so, the Australian fracturing his collarbone in the process and ruling himself out of starting stage 2.
Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers), who finished second in the prologue, was treated by race medics after the stage for abrasions to his knees and elbows after crashing. He told Cyclingnews he had slept well on Thursday morning at the start and vowed to race on.
Bora-Hansgrohe said the same about their sprinter Jordi Meeus, who crashed twice on stage 1, but the German squad later confirmed that he would also be forced to leave the race after suffering a concussion.
"Jordi Meeus underwent scans and further investigations, which did not find any serious consequences to his falls. However, since he has suffered a concussion, he will not start stage 2 tomorrow," the team announced on social media.
Along with Gesink, Patrick Bevin (Team DSM) also left the race during the stage. The New Zealander crashed hard during the Schwalbe Classic criterium and sprained his ankle. The pain meant he was unable to continue in the Tour Down Under.
James Knox (Soudal-QuickStep) has also left the Tour Down Under ahead of stage 2. The Briton was among those caught in crashes during the stage but was later disqualified after it was found that he excessively drafted team cars on his way back to the peloton.
The opening day of the race had seen a spate of riders fall foul of the tricky conditions, most sliding out on a wet spot on one of the last corners of the course.
The unlucky Van Dijke was among those to go down, and he was joined by Emils Liepins (Trek-Segafredo), Jensen Plowright (Groupama-FDJ), Mikkel Honoré (EF Education-EasyPost), and Chris Hamilton (Team DSM), among others.
Away from the racing, several other riders have gone down with injuries. Uno-X rider Jonas Abrahamsen was involved in a high-speed crash during the team's Spanish training camp on Monday. He escaped with cuts and abrasions having swallowed his tongue after hitting the ground.
Juan Pedro López (Trek-Segafredo) is out with a fractured collarbone after crashing during training on Tuesday, while Wednesday brought more bad news as Aimé De Gendt (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) has also gone down with the same injury after a training crash.
