Simon Yates abandons Giro d’Italia on Stage 17 after 'knee pain grew worse and worse'

Simon Yates’ topsy-turvy Giro d’Italia has come to an end after BikeExchange-Jayco announced he has withdrawn from the race. Yates was pictured off the back on Stage 17’s run through the rainy Alps on Wednesday. He picked up a knee injury earlier in the race which derailed his GC ambitions, although he picked up a stage win either side of that crash.

Ad/> «Yates’ fall on Mount Etna and subsequent knee problem weighed down on the rider for all following stages of the Giro d’Italia,» said BikeExchange-Jayco doctor Matteo Beltemacchi. Giro d'ItaliaYates and Carapaz involved in 'clumsy' crash and big pile-up22/05/2022 AT 12:27 «Despite daily therapy and Simon’s tenacity, that resulted in a second stage win, the knee pain grew worse and worse, eventually leading to the decision for his retirement from the race.» Yates stormed to victory on the Stage 2 time trial but fell away in the general classification after his crash on Etna. However, he recovered to take a brilliant win on Stage 14 in the mountains.

“It’ll be a disappointment,” reacted Robbie McEwen on Eurosport commentary. “But the biggest disappointments were falling away out of GC on Stage 9 to the Blockhaus where he lost more than 11 minutes, sustaining that knee injury on Stage 4 to Mount Etna and battling on. “Since he’s not on GC and he’s already won a couple of stages, now is the time to play it safe and say ‘enough is enough’.

Don’t compromise the rest of the season.” /> — — - Stream the Giro d'Italia live and on-demand on discovery+. You can also watch all the action live on eurosport.co.uk. Giro d'ItaliaYates, Carapaz and him?! – Five big winners from Stage 14 thriller21/05/2022 AT 19:52 Giro d'ItaliaRedemption for Yates in Stage 14 thriller as Carapaz takes