Purito Rodrigues abandons Giro d'Italia

Joaquim Rodrigue, one of the main contenders for the Giro d'Italia 2014 overall win abandoned after a crash. “Purito” crashed during the sixth stage, Sassano to Montecassino, broke one finger and bruised a few ribs. Two of his team mates are also out, so the Spaniard decided to abandon.

“Out battle for the general classification is over. This is a day to forget. We came here with the objective of winning but a big crash, with 40 riders down, ruined it for Purito. He has a lot of pains in his ribs, the same ones that he hurt in the Amstel Gold Race crash,” said Jose Azevedo, Katusha Team sport director.

After finishing second two years ago in the same competition, and third last year in the Tour de France, Purito though this is the best opportunity for him to finally win a grand tour. Despite initially confirming he will not participate in the Tour de France, his team said he will rest for a few weeks and then practice for the Tour.

The sixth stage of the Giro was won by Michael Matthews. The Australian rider leads the general classification, 21 seconds ahead of Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) and 1minute and 18 seconds ahead of Rigoberto Uran (Omega Pharma-QuickStep)