Ludvigsson uninjured in Giro d'Italia time trial crash

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Tobias Ludvigsson's dramatic crash in the Giro d'Italia time trial on Thursday left him only "battered and bruised," Team Giant-Shimano has reported. The Swedish rider "has no fractures or internal bleeding," and will return home to recover.

"Despite the height that Tobias fell from after hitting, and then tumbling over, the safety barrier on today’s Stage 12 individual time trial the team’s medical experts confirmed that Tobias has no fractures or internal bleeding and could return home," the team said in a statement. "Tobias is still a bit battered and bruised and all at Team Giant-Shimano wish him a speedy recovery and a quick return to racing."

Ludvigsson hit and then flew over a guard rail, landing some meters away in a field. The televised crash looked much worse out than it apparently was, and he was later taken to hospital in an ambulance. Fortunately he came away only with cuts and bruises, and no doubt in major shock.

It was the second Grand Tour for the 23-year-old, who won this year's the Étoile de Bessèges and was fifth overall in the Tour de Méditerranéen.

Nicolas Roche (Tinkoff-Saxo) was behind Ludvigsson. In his blog on independent.ie, he reported that the going was tricky, with "the rain pelting down and the roads getting slippery." He saw Ludvigsson fly "some 20 metres off the road," which was one of the reasons the Irish rider "didn't want to take any risks in the wet."