Silvan Dillier was forced to abandon the Giro d’Italia on Sunday after fracturing his finger in a crash that occurred with about 12km remaining of the stage won by Etixx-QuickStep’s Marcel Kittel.
"We took Silvan to the hospital to undergo X-Rays on his right hand and arm, which is the area that he landed on during the crash," said BMC team physician Giovanni Ruffini. “X-Rays revealed a dislocated fracture of the first phalange of his second finger."
Dillier said he was extremely disappointed to have crashed out so early in the race.
"It's obviously really disappointing to not only miss out on the chance to get a good result at the Giro d'Italia but also because this was important preparation for the Olympic Games," he said. "I hope to be back on the bike as soon as possible and be back in good form for GP du canton d'Agovie, which is my home race and a big goal for me."
Rufini said it was too soon to determine when Dillier would be able to return to competition, but the team expected to have a better idea in the coming days.
"Silvan will return to Switzerland in the morning and undergo surgery to secure the fracture," he said. "At this stage we do not have a clear indication of when he will be able to resume training, but he will most likely need 10 or so days off. We will know more after his surgery."
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Van Zyl's late solo effort nearly steals the day
Dimension Data’s Johann Van Zyl nearly stole the show from the sprinters on Sunday during stage 3 at the Giro d’Italia when he attacked the four-rider breakaway he’d been in for most of the day an soloed within 2km of the day’s win.
Marcel Kittel’s Etixx-QuickStep eventually pulled Van Zyl back to set up the big German sprinter for his second consecutive stage win and move into the maglia rosa, but Van Zyl’s late move made them dig a little deeper for it.
"Once we got onto the local laps we rode as hard as we could and I attacked them with about 12km to go," said the 25-year-old South African. "I don't know if the guys just didn't want to commit anymore or if they were just tired but I knew I had to go now. I went as hard as I could and I ended up being one or two kilometres short - next time."
Giant-Alpecin video goes behind the scenes
This recently released video from Giant-Alpecin takes you behind the scenes for Tom Dumoulin's opening time trial win and his ride into the first maglia rosa of the 2016 Giro d'Italia. It's been a rough early season for the Dutch team, but Dumoulin's win on the opening day in the Netherlands provided a special boost for the team.
Giro d'Italia stage 3 highlights - Video
Marcel Kittel won his second consecutive stage at the Giro d’Italia with yet another dominant, powerful sprint finish in Arnhem to swap the red points competition jersey for the race leader’s pink jersey.
The stage was another long day in the Netherlands countryside but this time it seemed that Kittel might be thwarted by an heroic solo effort on the part of Dimension Data’s Johann Van Zyl. The South African was one of a quartet of riders who broke away at the very start of the stage. Van Zyl then hit out on his own with 12 kilometres remaining, creating a tense final before he was caught and Etixx-QuickStep again took control of the sprint.
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