Geraint Thomas and Adam Yates taken down in crash with motorbike ahead of Giro d’Italia Blockhaus finale (video)
A stationary motorbike on the left hand side of the road saw a number of Sky riders including Geraint Thomas and Mikel Landa taken down
A stationary police motorbike looks to have put paid to any hopes of a victory for Team Sky at the Giro d'Italia.
The motorbike was parked on the left hand side of the road as the peloton fought for position coming into the crucial finishing climb of Blockhaus on stage nine.
As the peloton moved by, Sky were moving up the bunch and Sunweb rider Wilco Kelderman was the first to go down. A number of Sky riders then hit the ground including Geraint Thomas and Mikel Landa who are jointly leading the team.
Both riders got back on their bikes, but lost a significant amount of ground as the peloton pushed on as the Sky riders tried to come to terms with what had happened.
Other British hopes were also dented as Adam Yates (Orica-Scott) was also caught up by the incident. He didn't appear to come down hard and was up quickly, but was forced to work extremely hard to try and save as much time as possible as Movistar pushed on with their leader Nairo Quintana.
Quintana went on to win the stage and take the pink jersey, while Thomas finished 5-07 down and Yates 4-37 back.
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Follow on Twitter: @richwindy
Richard is digital editor of Cycling Weekly. Joining the team in 2013, Richard became editor of the website in 2014 and coordinates site content and strategy, leading the news team in coverage of the world's biggest races and working with the tech editor to deliver comprehensive buying guides, reviews, and the latest product news.
An occasional racer, Richard spends most of his time preparing for long-distance touring rides these days, or getting out to the Surrey Hills on the weekend on his Specialized Tarmac SL6 (with an obligatory pub stop of course).
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