Blockhaus seals Simon Yates' Giro ambitions: "That's just the way it is"

Team BikeExchange - Jayco have came to the Giro d'Italia with ambitions to take the overall win, and with a full team focused around that goal. On stage nine however, that goal is no longer achievable as the Briton cracked on the road to Blockhaus.

We'll see if I keep fighting. We have a rest day first and then we'll see how the recovery goes, but I don't know yet if I will continue," Yates told at the end of the stage to Eurosport. His inconsistency was always a concern gearing up towards the mountain stages, however it came as a surprise to see the Briton crack in the first stage where the GC riders went all-out - specially after his surprising win in the race's individual time-trial.

He had been suffering from a knee injury over the last few days, and today saw him out of the general classification contention with definitive effect after a loss of over 11 minutes. "That injury caused me a lot of problems, but it wasn't my only problem today. I was again bothered by the heat. That's just the way it is. I did give everything. That's it," he justified.

"I still had the hope that I could do something, but I've just had a lot of pain since the stage to Etna," he added. Yates was one of the main favourites for this year's Giro d'Italia, but as was the case with Miguel Ángel López, a small injury has blew those aspirations to bits.

Team DS Matt White has urge the need to reaccess Yates' aspirations over the rest day. "A new week is now also approaching. The rest day will do us good. We have been in this situation many times before. We need to clear our heads and start setting new goals," he concluded.