‘A major setback’ – Lotto-Intermarché down to four riders at the Giro d’Italia as leader crashes out

Lennert van Eetvelt may have entered the Giro d’Italia attuned to as many as 15 stages where opportunity called, but stage 11 on Wednesday quickly turned from a promising prospect to a stumbling block for the Lotto-Intermarché rider.

Van Eetvelt had already shown his determination to make a mark on several occasions at the Italian Grand Tour, right from stage 2 when he followed Jonas Vingegaard’s attack on the final climb, and while that move was ultimately caught and didn’t yield the hoped-for top results, the strong form behind it meant the attempts to clinch a stage kept rolling.