A high-speed downhill crash in Monday’s third stage of the Giro D’Italia left Italy’s Domenico Pozzovivo stricken and bleeding before medical services rushed him to a nearby hospital.
The 32-year-old climber also fell during the second stage on Sunday, but after this second and heavier fall on Monday a pool of blood was visible beneath where the rider’s head lay on the road.
Pozzovivo came fifth overall in the 2014 edition of the Giro and was the AG2R team leader here.
The fall came on the descent of the Barbagelata hill some 40km from the end of a rolling 136km run from Rapallo to Sestri Levante.