VIDEO: Two of the early breakaway go down as Pinot narrowly avoids disaster on treacherous wet roads at the Giro d'Italia

On a chaotic opening to stage 5 of the 2023 Giro d'Italia, the weather was playing havoc with the safety of the riders.

Wet, slippery roads meant a treacherous descent followed one of the early climbs and the as the breakaway tried to put the hammer down and increase the gap to the peloton, disaster struck for two riders as their front wheels slipped out from under them and caused them to go down hard.

The current King of the Mountains, Thibaut Pinot narrowly avoided disaster himself. Watch in the video below courtesy of the official Eurosport Twitter account.