Why Primoz Roglic withdrew from 2025 Giro d'Italia after another crash on Stage 16 - 'It was too much'

A "battered and bruised" Primoz Roglic saw his Giro d'Italia end on Stage 16, as the Slovenian suffered a fourth crash of the race. Roglic admitted to being unable to even ride his bike during Monday's rest day, yet he managed to make the start line. However, his Red Bull team said afterwards that his latest fall had been "too much" to battle on from. In his absence, a thrilling GC battled ensued.

Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) "tried with all his power" to stay in the Giro d'Italia following yet another crash, but it was "just too much", said his sporting director afterwards.

Roglic, the 2023 winner, was in the wrong place at the wrong time on a few occasions in this edition, tumbling to the deck on the gravel on Stage 9, suffering two other incidents, and then going down at slow speed in the rain on a wildly action-packed Stage 16.

All of which prompted the Slovenian to abandon the race.

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"It was just too much," Red Bull DS Patxi Vila said afterwards.

"He [Roglic] is tough, he's hard, he tried with all his power, but that one crash again was too much.

"You need to know when it’s too much and you need to stop and that moment was in a roundabout in Trento. That’s it."

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Earlier, TNT Sports' Adam Blythe had been roadside to witness Roglic getting into his team car.

"That is the Giro over for him," Blythe, riding on motorbike, said.

"He just looks battered and bruised, it was a super slow crash at a roundabout with [Richard] Carapaz and he just slipped out.

"I think just bumps, bruises [for Roglic]. We couldn't really see any scrapes on him the last couple of days, but if you've got a big bruise on your leg or come down hard, you're going to feel it and that obviously is just that one too many for him in this Giro."

Watch: 'He looks battered and bruised' - Roglic abandons Giro after latest crash

Video credit: TNT Sports

Carapaz ignites GC battle

Meanwhile, the GC battle continues apace into the final week, with the first big mountain day putting the cat amongst the pigeons.

Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates), the young Mexican surprise package, clung onto pink despite being distanced late on.

But it was the comparatively veteran Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) who impressed the most, riding away from Del Toro and Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike) to end the day just 31 seconds back from the former, in third on GC.

'NO NO NO! Disaster for UAE!' - Del Toro cracks amid fierce GC mountain battle

Video credit: TNT Sports

Blythe, speaking from the finish area, gave his verdict after a day which saw Juan Ayuso (UAE) drop well back on GC.

"The GC shaken up, UAE especially; I'm going to put it bluntly, they've had a terrible day," he said.

"They've gone from good to bad very quickly, so they really need to change things round now.

"[UAE are] the strongest team in the race - after Lidl-Trek for stages - but what looked to be the strongest team, it's all gone down the pan."

You can watch and stream every day of the Giro d'Italia finale live on TNT Sports and discovery+

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