Remco Evenepoel blames Kaden Groves for Giro mass crash: "That fall was nasty. I saw it happen"

The second stage of the Giro d'Italia was marked by the crash at the finale which saw several GC riders lose a bit more time to Remco Evenepoel. The race leader saw the accident take place right next to him and accused Kaden Groves of causing it.

"That fall was nasty. I saw it happen. We know who caused the fall," Evenepoel shared with Sporza. "It was not a nice move. Fortunately we stayed out of trouble. Kaden Groves pushed Davide Ballerini, causing him to hang on a wheel. It would have been clear with helicopter images. It was not a nice action."

The crash took place with just under 4 kilometers to go, in a section of the course where the road was narrow. A touch of wheels saw a few riders hit the deck close to the front of the peloton. It could've been a worst situation, but the deacceleration caused a split. Evenepoel believes Groves' shoulder bump eventually led to the Team DSM rider hitting the deck, but the race leader managed to stay upright as he was close to the head of the peloton.

"I'm lucky that my teammates and I stayed upright. It was hectic, but you can't be afraid. You have to fight for your place and we did that well. As soon as it got nervous, we were in the front and didn't let ourselves be drummed away," Evenepoel concluded. "Guys like Cerny, Cattaneo and Ballerini did their job. I asked to disappear [off the front] at the sign of the last 3 kilometers and give the sprinters a chance. I don't want to get in their way either. I'm glad I took a lot of steps in that and that I'm better find my place."