Stage 5 proved to be a disaster for Israel - Premier Tech. Several of their riders crashed hard on the day in separate incidents, and two of them will not start the sixth stage this morning including team leader Michael Woods who was in search of a stage win to complete the Grand Tour trilogy.
After Riley Pickrell had crashed earlier suffering facial injuries, both Woods and Israeli rider Nadav Raisberg were part of a crash that happened with 25 kilometers remaining on the stage. Both were in distress and quite annoyed with the amount of time it took for replacement bikes to come from the team car.
The trio of riders were the last to cross the finish line in Lucca, over 13 minutes down on stage winner Benjamin Thomas. However the bad news were to follow. The team confirm Raisberg's withdrawal from the race last night after it was discovered that he suffered a hand fracture. Pickrell required stitches to the nose following his crash.
Woods did not suffer fractures but the team confirmed the decision this morning. "After crashing on stage 5 of the Giro d'Italia, Mike Woods is unable to continue in the race," the team shared on social media. "An initial examination ruled out fractures but in line with the team's concussion protocol, Woods was observed overnight during which time mild symptoms of concussion presented and as a precaution, the decision has been made for hm to withdraw. He will travel home today to recover."
UPDATE: Bad news for the Israeli team following Woods' announcement. Canadian Riley Pickrell also abandons the race due to the injuries suffered: "I'm super disappointed, leaving you first Grand Tour is something no rider wants to do," he said. "I came here and I wanted to finish the race - obviously getting through a Grand Tour is such a big accomplishment for any rider."
"Hopefully I can get this opportunity again, and I can come back and make it to the finish."
A tough day at the @giroditalia for our guys 😢 Unfortunately, Nadav Raisberg will not be able to continue the race. It's a sad day for the Grand Tour debutant who trained so hard to be here but we have no doubt he will come back stronger than ever. #GirodItalia 🇮🇹 #YallaIPT
Sad news this morning with @rusty_woods unable to start @giroditalia stage 6 😢 “𝘐’𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘰 𝘥’𝘐𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦…
Back luck clearly comes in threes: @RileyPickrell will also not start today's @giroditalia stage 😢 “𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦…
