Urán’s ill-starred Giro d’Italia continues with Imola crash

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It never rains but it pours for Rigoberto Urán at this Giro d'Italia. Out of sorts from the beginning of the race due to the lingering effects of bronchitis, the Etixx-QuickStep man reached the first rest day already some 2:10 off the maglia rosa of Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo).

With 15 kilometres remaining on stage 11, as the peloton began the final lap of a finishing circuit in Imola that incorporated the storied motor racing track, Urán's Giro risked taking an even more serious downturn, as his wheels slipped from under him when the peloton passed beneath the main grandstand. 

Urán was the lone faller, and it wasn't immediately clear whether he had clipped wheels with the rider in front of him or whether he had simply succumbed to a slick surface made treacherous by steady rain [he later confirmed it was the former - ed.] No matter, the effect was the same: he crashed with sufficient force to split his helmet in the incident, and he also suffered cuts to his shoulder.

In a statement released by Etixx-QuickStep later on Wednesday evening, Urán confirmed that he would not be forced out of the Giro by the effects of his crash. "A crash is not the ideal situation for the moment, and of course tomorrow I may feel a bit differently than today as sometimes you don't fully feel the effects until the next day or later," he said. "But we have to deal with the situation as it is. The Giro continues for me tomorrow."