Kaden Groves, Australia’s primary contender for a sprint stage win at the Giro d’Italia, has been forced to exit the race on stage four due to injuries sustained in a crash on the opening day. That came after fellow Australian Jay Vine also withdrew following a crash on stage two that left him with concussion and a broken elbow.
Groves was among multiple riders caught in a mass pileup just 600 meters from the finish line during the race’s first stage in Bulgaria on Friday. The rider, who has won 10 Grand Tour stages, was visibly bloodied and limping afterward, but his team Alpecin-Premier Tech initially reported that he seemed fine.
However, the 27-year-old Australian continued to suffer the effects of the crash and could not recover enough to continue in the Giro. Groves himself described the injuries as just “a few superficial scrapes all over my body,” but it became apparent he had bruising on his shoulder and neck.
He opted out of contesting the sprint at the end of Sunday’s stage three, and a rest day on Monday did not relieve the pain. Before Tuesday’s stage from Catanzaro to Cosenza—the first in Italy—he said: “I didn’t ride yesterday. I hope after a complete day off the sensations have improved. I’ll take it day by day and see how things are on the climb. I don’t need to risk anything.”
But early in the 138-kilometer ride through Calabria, before the tough 14.5-kilometer climb up the Cozzo Tunno with an average gradient of nearly 6%, news broke that Groves had withdrawn.
The physical pain was compounded by the fact that the race was set up for the Gympie-born speedster to surpass Caleb Ewan’s total of 11 Grand Tour stage wins and move into second place alone on the Australian all-time list, behind Robbie McEwan’s 24 victories.
With their top stars Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen absent, the Belgian team had designated Groves—who wore race number one—as their lead sprinter. Now Francesco Busato will take over that role, though there may also be opportunities for 25-year-old Australian Jensen Plowright, who finished 18th on stage three while receiving team support.
Groves, who won the stage from Potenza to Naples in last year’s Giro d’Italia, had only recently returned from a two-month break due to knee trouble caused by a crash in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad race in early March.
The peloton still features two Australian general classification contenders: Red Bull-BORA hansgrohe co-leader Jai Hindley and Jayco AlUla’s Ben O’Connor. Hindley was frustrated when squeezed out by Jan Christian during a bonus sprint, but both riders sit 10 seconds behind new race leader Giulio Ciccone of Lidl-Trek, along with pre-race favorite Jonas Vingegaard (Visma Lease-A-Bike).
Ecuador’s Jhonatan Narvaez won the stage, a welcome result for Vine’s UAE Team Emirates XRG. Orluis Aular (Movistar) took second place and Ciccone finished third.
Wednesday’s fifth stage covers nearly 4,000 meters of climbing over a 203-kilometer route from Praia a Mare to Potenza, a layout that could further shake up the standings.