In a late crash at the bunch sprint on stage 1 of the UAE Tour, many riders were held up and hit the deck. One of those was INEOS Grenadiers sprinter, Elia Viviani.
Although the experienced Italian required some medical testing, thankfully there seems to be no lingering effects for Viviani, as revealed by the official social media pages of the INEOS Grenadiers team in the last few hours.
"We're very happy to confirm that Elia Viviani was able to finish the opening stage of UAE Tour despite crashing in the final metres," reads the update from the INEOS Grenadiers. "After checks from our medical team the Italian has been treated for cuts and bruises. We're sending our best wishes to everyone else caught in the pile-up."
In the end, Tim Merlier managed to triumph amongst the chaos and take the opening stage win and as such move into the early overall lead at the race.
We're very happy to confirm that @eliaviviani was able to finish the opening stage of #UAETour despite crashing in the final metres. After checks from our medical team the Italian has been treated for cuts and bruises. We're sending our best wishes to everyone else caught in…
