Stage 3 of the Gree-Tour of Guangxi descended into chaos today as a series of crashes ripped through the peloton, leaving several favourites injured and others unable to continue. Less than 30 kilometres into the stage, a massive pile-up saw over 20 riders go down, forcing a temporary halt in the race as medical staff rushed to the scene.
Crash on a descent
The crash, which occurred on a tricky descent, was triggered when one rider clipped another’s wheel, sending riders tumbling into each other in a chain reaction. Among those caught in the mayhem were several major contenders. This included Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers), Australian champion Luke Plapp (Jayco-AlUla), and defending champion Milan Vader (Visma – Lease a Bike). Vader, who was looking to defend his title, sustained a deep flesh wound to his knee and was forced to abandon the race. Fortunately, his injuries weren’t as serious as they first appeared, but his day—and race—were over.
Crash takes out many favorites
As the race was paused, it became clear the damage was extensive. Six riders had to abandon, and race leader Max Kanter (Astana-Qazaqstan) was also caught up in the crash, although he was able to get back on the bike and rejoin the peloton.
There has been a massive crash in the peloton, with amongst other, the following riders going down:
GC leader:🇩🇪@MaxKanter97
Youth GC leader: 🇵🇱@FilipMaciejuk
Ecuadorian champion: 🇪🇨@NarvaezJho#TOG2024— Gree-Tour of Guangxi (@TourofGuangxi) October 17, 2024
For Visma – Lease a Bike, losing Vader was a huge blow. The Dutchman was leader for the day. The team watched as their hopes for a strong performance were dashed in an instant. “I knew right away that I couldn’t continue,” Vader said afterward. “It looked pretty bad. But I’m glad no one else was seriously hurt. It’s hard to leave the race like this, especially when I was looking forward to the coming days.”
Defending champ out
Visma – Lease a Bike directeur sportif, former Dutch pro Frans Maassen expressed his frustration but was relieved that the injuries weren’t more serious.
“It’s a huge disappointment to lose Milan, especially since he was our leader today. But considering how things could’ve gone, we’re thankful that it’s not worse.”
With several top riders now out of contention, the race is wide open.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…