Matej Mohorič abandons Giro d’Italia 2021 after huge crash on a descent

The Bahrain Victorious rider took a huge hit after losing control on a fast downhill

Matej Mohorič crashed out of the Giro d'Italia 2021 on stage nine
(Image credit: GCN/Eurosport)

Matej Mohorič has abandoned the Giro d’Italia 2021 after a huge crash on a descent on stage nine.

The Bahrain Victorious was right at the front of a big leading group, as the battle to form a breakaway continued after 40km of racing on the road to Campo Felice.

https://twitter.com/Eurosport_UK/status/1393892086580121600?s=20 

On the long descent from the Passo Godi, Mohorič was riding in second wheel behind his team-mate Gino Mäder when his back wheel lost grip on a left-hand turn. 

Mohorič’s wheel then re-gripped on the tarmac, but the 26-year-old was sent careening into the inside curb, flipping him over the handlebars and sending him to his head. 

After getting back to his feet and considering getting back on his spare bike, Mohorič abandoned the race and was stretchered to an ambulance.

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TV images showed his wrecked bike lying on the floor after the fall, as his forks appear to have snapped as he hit the curb. 

Bahrain Victorious have not yet provided an update on their rider.

The team have suffered a mixed Giro d'Italia so far, after their sole general classification leader Mikel Landa abandoned the race on stage five after he went down in a high speed crash on stage five.

Landa was caught in a nasty incident as a number of riders hit a traffic island, during the fast run in to Cattolica for the sprint finish, eventually won by Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal).

The following day, the Bahraini team hit back as their man Gino Mäder took a highly anticipated Grand Tour stage victory, winning from a breakaway on the first mountain finish of the race, and narrowly holding off the GC favourites led by Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers). 

After the loss of Landa and Mohoric, Bahrain Victorious are now down to six riders, including Mäder, Pello Bilbao, and Damiano Caruso. 

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Alex Ballinger

Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers.  Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.