Uno-X sprinter raced 10 days at the Giro d’Italia before doctors found four fractures

The Norwegian sprinter went down heavily in the finale of stage one in Burgas, Bulgaria, where a crash inside the final kilometre disrupted the sprint and brought down several riders, including Dylan Groenewegen and Kaden Groves. Blikra was among the first to fall and reached the finish visibly battered, complaining of pain in his back.

At the time, the 29-year-old suggested that the crash had left him facing a difficult opening to his first Grand Tour. He said the wounds on his back would make recovery and sleep complicated during the weeks ahead, but he still pushed on.

Blikra eventually remained in the race until stage 11. By then, illness had added to his physical problems and he finished outside the time limit. Only after further medical checks did the full extent of the damage become clear.

Only later did scans show the full extent of the damage. “Examinations after my crash on stage 1 of the Giro d’Italia have revealed three fractures in my lower back and a fractured rib,” Blikra wrote in an update on Instagram.

It explained why his Giro had become such a battle. Blikra had not only been dealing with crash wounds and illness, but had also ridden on with four fractures.

“Not the answer I was hoping for, but at least the struggle now makes sense,” he added.

Blikra now faces a spell away from racing while he recovers.

“The focus now is on recovery,” he wrote. “That means no racing for a while, but I’ll do everything I can to be back as soon as possible.”

His absence also changed the shape of Uno-X Mobility’s Giro. With their sprinter out of the race, the team had to rethink its approach and lean further into attacking opportunities. That shift eventually paid off in Milan, where Fredrik Dversnes gave the Norwegian team a memorable stage victory.