Santiago Buitrago hospitalised and forced to abandon as toll of Stage 2 crash rises at the 2026 Giro d’Italia
Cycling
The list of casualties from the brutal Stage 2 crash at the 2026 Giro d’Italia has grown again, with Santiago Buitrago forced to abandon the race after being caught up in the mass fall on wet roads in Bulgaria.
The Bahrain - Victorious leader was one of the notable general classification outsiders at this year’s Giro, but his race is already over after the incident that tore through the peloton with around 23 kilometres remaining on the road to Veliko Tarnovo.
Bahrain - Victorious confirmed the news after the stage, writing: “With approximately 23km to go on Stage 2 of the Giro d’Italia, Santiago Buitrago was forced to abandon the race after being involved in a crash. He has been taken to the closest hospital for further exams.”
No further diagnosis has yet been confirmed by the team.
Another major name out after chaotic crash
Buitrago’s abandon adds another major name to the fallout from one of the most damaging early incidents of the 2026 Giro. The crash came on slippery roads before the final climb to the Lyaskovets Monastery, just after the long breakaway of Diego Pablo Sevilla and Mirco Maestri had been caught and the peloton was beginning to organise for the finale.
The scale of the incident was immediately clear. Multiple riders went down, medical vehicles were occupied, and the race was temporarily neutralised so those involved could receive assistance and attempt to rejoin.
UAE Team Emirates - XRG were hit particularly hard, with Jay Vine taken away on a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance, Marc Soler also sent to hospital, and Adam Yates later finishing more than 12 minutes down after crashing heavily. Antonio Morgado was also caught up and left nursing pain after the stage. Buitrago’s abandon now gives Bahrain - Victorious their own major blow from the same incident.
Santiago Buitrago and Damiano Caruso ahead of stage 2 at the 2026 Giro d'Italia
Giro already reshaped before leaving Bulgaria
Stage 2 was expected to bring the first tactical test of the Giro, but the crash has already had wider consequences than the final climb or stage result alone.
Guillermo Thomas Silva eventually won the stage and moved into the Maglia Rosa, while Jonas Vingegaard launched an early attack on the final climb before the front trio were brought back in the closing kilometre.
Yet for several teams, the bigger story was damage limitation. Buitrago’s exit removes one of the race’s dangerous climbing contenders before the Giro has even reached Italy, while UAE are left waiting on hospital updates after a disastrous day for their own GC structure. The race continues on Sunday with Stage 3 from Plovdiv to Sofia, but the impact of the Stage 2 crash is already likely to be felt far beyond Bulgaria.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 2visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- for what?frieders311-11-2026
- Blah blah blah!frieders311-11-2026
- Where Merckx just rode every single race he could and won all the time, Hinault won less often (percentage wise) because he was more judicious in what he raced. His palmares are nuts. He had amazing rivals, one to start his career and another to end it in the grand tours. His classics were solid. What sets him apart from Merckx and Pogačar are that he basically dabbled in the classics while the other two love(d) them. I used to compare Pogačar to Hinault for his grand tour record and occasional classics win, until I realized that the comparison was wrong. Pogačar loves the classics - ah, the memory of his reaction to finishing fourth in a 2 person sprint in Flanders in ‘22: utter domination in any one day race since then, even when he doesn’t win. Hinault lived for the grand tours and I don’t think anyone else will ever reach his record. 10 wins in 13 attempts? Good lord. An amazing rider. Wish there was more footage to watch.RidesHills11-11-2026
- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment