"I've been in a lot of pain" - Mikkel Honore continues at Giro d'Italia despite fractured rib

EF Education-EasyPost's Mikkel Honore has been bright in the early stages of the 2024 Giro d'Italia, attacking towards the end of stage 3 alongside Tadej Pogacar and Geraint Thomas.

After being caught up in the crash that ended Biniam Girmay's race however, the 27-year-old Dane has been suffering with a broken rib. “My form is good, but since the fall two days ago I've been in a lot of pain," Honore tells Cycling Pro Net ahead of stage 6. "I try not to think about it too much and try to give everything. Today is certainly a stage that I was waiting for a lot and for which I prepared. But we'll see how the pace is and how I feel because yesterday I discovered I had a fractured rib."

Despite the considerable pain, Honore has no intentions to abandon the race if it can at all be avoided. "We'll see how things go day by day, but for me this is the best race of the year," he says, determined to keep racing. "It hurts when I breathe deeply and it's certainly not ideal, but we try not to think about it and give our best."

“It will be important to enter the breakaway because I think he will have a great chance of finishing. I think we'll have two races in one today. Who knows, there could even be a Pink Jersey up for grabs..." he concludes. "I think that if the breakaway starts before Volterra it could be the right one. The sectors are very tough and the last one is not very far from the finish, with the climb ten to the finish which will be crucial, with its gradients of up to 18% on a very narrow road. I think these three will be the key moments."