The Movistar rider started the stage in second place in the overall standings after a strong ride on stage 2 to Paracombe. However, he crashed with several other riders inside the final 3 kilometres of Thursday's stage and although he was able to remount and finish the stage he was taken to hospital for checks.
The main concern straight after the fall appeared to be over the rider's left shoulder.
"I was in the top 20 positions for the last 8 kilometres. I had Gorka behind me for the GC but then I heard a crash," he teammate Jasha Sütterlin told Cyclingnews as he waited for Izagirre to cross the line.
The majority of the Movistar team were unaware of the crash until after the fall.
"I couldn't hear who it was who fell." Sütterlin told Cyclingnews. "I don't know what happened there. I just hope that he's okay."
Team director Jose Luis Arrieta helped Izagirre into the ambulance before speaking the press.
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"It happened within the three-kilometre limit so he's not lost any time. He's banged up so we don't know if he can continue. It was typical and bad luck. You come into the final kilometres and wheels are rubbing. Then someone hits the brakes and you go down. I don't think there's a concussion but he may have broken his helmet. At the moment the main concern is his shoulder."
X-rays confirmed that Izagirre had avoided any broken bones as a result of the crash but the team says that it will wait until Friday morning to decide whether or not the Spaniard would continue.
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
