"I thought about what life would be like without a kidney" - Oscar Rodríguez describes terrifying crash and 12 days at hospital following Giro d'Italia crash
Cycling
Stage 11 of the Giro d'Italia was a chaotic day, one that seemed calm on paper but saw the entire podium of the Giro crash simultaneously, and moments after Oscar Rodríguez crashed out of the race dramatically as he hit a wall of a house. He reports on the two weeks of a very difficult health situation.
“We were working at the head of the group to resume the breakaway. I was not well, because I had just had a gastric virus, but I was still pulling. Shortly before there had been the crash of the Ineos, so there had been a slowdown and at that point we had to pick up speed," Rodríguez described in an interview with Diario de Navarra. "...Otto Vergaerde passed me too close, on the outside, I couldn't avoid it and with my front wheel I touched his rear."
The Spaniard was working for the ambitions of Fernando Gaviria at the time, when he hit the wheel of a Trek - Segafredo rider. Unfortunately for him it was in a very bad location, having hit a traffic sign and the wall of a house afterwards. This required medical assistance, the Movistar rider abandoned the race there right after Tao Geoghegan Hart.
"It was an easy corner, you could do it at 80 km/h without braking. At that moment all the spokes on my wheel broke and I was no longer able to control the bike. It would have been better to fall directly on the asphalt, but instead I stayed on the saddle. I saw that one getting closer and closer and I couldn't stop," he explained. "The road sign, however, I had not seen. But I couldn't stop: the front wheel was destroyed and the bike at that speed doesn't stop using only the rear brake".
Although he did not suffer meaningful bone injuries, he suffered a hit in a very sensitive location, bruising his kidney with the accident. “I remember screaming before crashing and then I was lying on the ground. I kept yelling for someone to come and help me. The collision with the pole was dry, then I also hit the wall of the nearby house."
"The car arrived and my sporting director, Xabier Muriel, immediately asked me if I thought I could continue… The ambulance took a little longer, as it was assisting the riders who had crashed shortly before. When she arrived, then, it took an hour to get to the hospital." The injuries were then diagnosed, and Rodríguez had to stay in the hospital for the entire duration of the Giro stages he could not compete in.
“They told me that we needed to see how the situation evolved and that there was a risk that they would have to remove it. Luckily things turned out for the best. I stayed in the hospital for 12 days, but I gradually felt better, so much so that I asked to be discharged a day earlier than expected," the 28-year old revealed.
“In those moments I thought about what life would be like without a kidney. The Movistar doctor had also begun to offer me the possibility of continuing to race. In any case, I was very lucky. If I had taken the hit just a few inches higher and had a punctured lung… We were going very fast.
"Now I want to go racing again: the team tell me to stay calm, I would like to compete already between August and September. I'm a professional, riding a bike is my job: moreover, I'm a positive person and I believe that things like this make you stronger," Rodríguez concluded.
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
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- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026
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