Van Eetvelt’s Giro ends in heartbreak as exhausted Blikra misses time cut

Lotto-Intermarché have suffered a significant setback at the Giro d’Italia after Lennert Van Eetvelt was forced to abandon the race following a crash on stage 11.

The Belgian rider went down while part of the breakaway and initially continued despite visible abrasions, including a wound on his back. Medical checks later revealed that the damage was more serious than first expected. Van Eetvelt had fractured the middle finger on his left hand, making it impossible for him to start stage 12.

It means the Belgian team now have only four riders left in the race, after Arnaud De Lie, Milan Menten and Joshua Giddings had already been forced to abandon earlier in the Giro.

For Van Eetvelt himself, it is also a major setback. He had hoped to use the Giro to put himself in the spotlight ahead of a possible move to a new team. The 24-year-old climber is out of contract after this season and has attracted interest from several teams. Soudal Quick-Step had previously been linked with him, but according to HLN that trail has gone cold. NSN Cycling Team are now pushing hardest, with Astana still in the background.

In the second stage of the Giro, the Belgian had impressed when he was able to follow Vingegaard and Pellizzari, but he struggled in the stages that followed. On Wednesday’s stage, he looked well placed to fight for a strong result before the crash ruined his chances.

Erlend Blikra also reached the end of his Giro in stage 11. The Uno-X rider failed to finish within the time limit after battling illness. In a video shared by the team, the 29-year-old Norwegian can be seen crossing the finish completely exhausted, a minute and a half outside the time limit.

Blikra had already crashed heavily in the opening stage, going down in the mass crash in Bulgaria as the first rider to hit the deck.

“I have a lot of wounds on my back, so that’s not great on the first day. It’s going to be a long few weeks now, not being able to sleep the way I would like to, but we’ll just keep on fighting,” he said afterwards.