"A sh*t day for the team" - Multiple Team Visma | Lease a Bike riders hit the deck on frantic stage 5 at the Giro d'Italia

Stage 5 of the 2024 Giro d'Italia is not a day that will be fondly remembered by those at Team Visma | Lease a Bike. After multiple riders going down in crashes, Olav Kooij and the rest of the sprinters were denied by the breakaway.

"A shit day for the team," was the brutal assessment of Team Visma | Lease a Bike's general classification hopeful, Cian Uijtdebroeks in his post-stage interview. "It's a shame that Olav couldn't sprint because of that. There are many opportunities this Giro d'Italia, but every opportunity is one."

With both Attila Valter and Christophe Laporte crashing, despite the fact both continued, the already injury-depleted Team Visma | Lease a Bike roster has not had the best of days.

"It was another intense day. We have to see what the damage is to Christophe, who was able to get back on the bike and ride back towards the peloton. That's a good sign, but we have to take pictures," assesses Team Visma | Lease a Bike sports director, Marc Reef. "He mainly has problems with his chest. He crashed through a hole of a few centimetres and the steering wheel flew out of his hands. He then hit its chest on the steering wheel. After that we were doing quite well and wanted to participate in chasing again, when Attila crashed..."