The France of cycling therefore has no right to happiness in three-week races.
Well placed to play the leading roles over the last ten days of the Giro, Romain Bardet was finally forced to retire during the 13th stage on Friday.
Shortly after the start of the stage, the Frenchman stopped to get into his sporting director's car, thus leaving the Giro d'Italia.
The leader of DSM was 4th in the general classification, 14 seconds from the pink jersey at the start this morning and seemed able to play for the win.
Any resemblance to Thibaut Pinot's Tour de France 2019 is purely coincidental.
Sport
Giro: Romain Bardet preceded by a gut in the sprint by the Australian Hindley at the top of the Blockhaus
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Tour of Italy: Girmay abandons after his Prosecco cork accident on the Giro podium
Giro
Romain Bardet
Abandonment
Cycling
Sport