Australian Rohan Dennis pulled out of the Giro d’Italia during stage 4 to the summit of Mount Etna in Sicily as he continued to suffer from injuries sustained in a crash Sunday.
Dennis’s maiden Giro started in disastrous fashion. The BMC rider suffered injuries in a high-speed spill on stage 3 that left him with severe road rash and complaining of a sore head and neck.
Despite receiving physiotherapy on Monday’s rest day, Dennis failed to recover sufficiently to continue.
He started the 181km ride from Cefalu to Mount Etna, the first summit finish of the race. But a message by BMC, posted on its Twitter account three hours after the start, said the 26-year-old was out of the race.
This does not bode well for American Tejay van Garderen’s overall aspirations in Italy, as Dennis was expected to be a key support rider and perhaps even a back-up team leader.
#Giro100 Unfortunately, @RohanDennis has been forced to abandon the race due to the effects of his stage 3 crash. More details to come.
— BMC Racing Team (@BMCProTeam) 9 mai 2017
