British cyclist Adam Yates has withdrawn from the Giro d’Italia after sustaining a concussion in a heavy crash on Saturday.
The 33-year-old, who finished third in the Tour de France in 2023, hit a barrier at high speed during a wet descent that involved approximately 30 riders. Two of his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates suffered fractures and were taken to hospital.
Although Yates managed to finish the stage to Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria, he lost 14 minutes to the leaders. His team later confirmed: “Adam Yates suffered heavy abrasions and a laceration to his left ear. He was initially assessed on-site for concussion and cleared to continue, but subsequently he has shown delayed concussive symptoms. He will not take the start of stage three.”
Sunday’s third stage, which ended in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, was won by France’s Paul Magnier in a photo-finish bunch sprint. The 22-year-old Soudal-Quick Step rider also won the opening stage on Friday, retaining the cyclamen jersey after perfectly timing his sprint to beat Italian powerhouse Jonathan Milan of Lidl-Trek. The Netherlands’ Dylan Groenewegen of Unibet Rose Rockets finished third.
The 175km stage, the final of three in Bulgaria for the Italian Grand Tour’s Grande Partenza, saw little incident as the rain held off over the Borovets mountain pass. Uruguayan Guillermo Thomas Silva of XDS Astana retains the overall leader’s pink jersey after winning Saturday’s eventful wet stage, ending Yates’ hopes of wearing pink.
All other main contenders for overall victory, including hot favourite Jonas Vingegaard of Visma-Lease a Bike, finished safely in Sofia. For Yates, this marks the first Grand Tour he has started but not completed. He has seven top-10 finishes in Grand Tours overall, but his brother Simon won the Giro last year in spectacular fashion before retiring in January. Adam has won only two Grand Tour stages, including one Tour de France stage where he wore the yellow jersey.
This is not the first time Yates has suffered a concussion. He had a similar incident during the 2024 UAE Tour, where he hit his head on the road following a crash. He later told BBC Sport he “doesn’t remember any of it” and “hit his head pretty hard and knew something wasn’t right”.
Safety in cycling has come under scrutiny following several recent incidents.
