"I had no choice" - Primoz Roglic submits to array of crashes at the Giro d'Italia

Primoz Roglic has had another unlucky Grand Tour stint, and this one ended today. The Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe rider has crashed several times in this race, and after coming down once against during stage 16, he left the race away from the TV cameras.

"I just had too much impact with all these crashes. I had no choice, I had to stop. I always try to think about what's going to happen in the future, and that's it," the Slovenian said in a video shared by his team.

On stage 9 most notably, Roglic crashed and suffered through it, losing time on the sterrato stage and later suffering from it's effects on week two of the race. On stage 15, it was no longer possible to hide the weak points, and he described having a lot of pain.

He had said that he struggled to pedal during the rest day and did not go on a group ride with his teammates. Hence, despite starting stage 16, there were not many positive signs for the veteran. As luck - or bad luck in this case - would have it, he would crash once again inside the final 100 kilometers alongside Richard Carapaz. Whilst the Ecuadorian went on to make serious progress in the fight for the pink jersey, Roglic pulled the plug on his Giro participation.

"With the guys, the team, we had some great experiences, it was great to be able to ride with them, we'll have good memories that I will never forget, that's also the truth," he is thankful. "Now we're focusing on what's next".

What's next, most likely, is the Tour de France which he has initially crossed on his schedule. However, coming in without a result in the Giro, he will go in with more pressure to perform.