"If someone like Pippo says he’s in pain, it means it’s serious” - INEOS Grenadiers' Tour de France starts disastrously with Filippo Ganna DNF

Months of work, preparation and build-up were ruined in less than half a stage for Filippo Ganna on Saturday as the Italian powerhouse crashed out of the 2025 Tour de France on the opening day. For the INEOS Grenadiers, there could hardly have been a more disastrous start to the Grand Tour.

"Initial assessment by the race doctor was carried out according to UCI protocol and he was cleared to continue, but closely monitored by the race and INEOS Grenadiers medical teams. He subsequently developed symptoms of concussion and was immediately withdrawn from the race," explained a post to the team's social media late on Saturday night. "Hospital checks have been completed and he will continue to have close and careful monitoring over the coming days. We wish him a speedy recovery."

Giving more light on the situation, INEOS Grenadiers' sports director Oli Cookson spoke to Italian outlet Bici.Pro about the nation's newly crowned time trial champion immediately after the finish of stage 1. “At the moment. I can’t say much more because the medical staff are still examining him on the bus. It looks like he took a knock to the head, but we can’t confirm anything until we get the doctor’s report," Cookson explained. "We saw him drop back on the climb of Mont Cassel. We kept talking to him, trying to keep him calm, to assess how he was feeling."

"Did he call us? No, because after the crash the radio wasn’t working. We stayed close to him in the car, but at one point he just said he couldn’t go on," Cookson added. "He was in pain. And if someone like Pippo says he’s in pain, it means it’s serious.”

As already mentioned, within the blink of an eye, so much hope, anticipation and preparation was ruined as Ganna stepped off and into the team car. “Cycling is a cruel sport. Hours and hours of work, months of preparation — and Pippo had done it all perfectly — and it can all vanish in an instant," rues Cookson. "The time trial in Caen could have been a real opportunity. But things like this happen. We went through something similar at the 2020 Giro d’Italia when we lost Thomas right at the start and had to rethink our entire race strategy."

“Losing Pippo won’t be easy. He’s one of our most iconic riders and a real reference point for the rest of the team. But the Tour is long, and we’ll have to find a way to move forward," the DS concludes. "Still, it’s not exactly the start we hoped for. I’ve only just arrived and need to check everything, but I think we only had one rider up in the front group.”