Frustrated Rohan Dennis has vowed to make sure his 2017 season is not a write-off after pulling out of the Giro d’Italia.
The Australian was not able to complete stage four on Tuesday due to nausea, having gone down in a heavy crash two days before.
Dennis had been quietly tipped to challenge for a podium place given his speed in time trials and his improved climbing displays in the past year or so.
But the BMC rider is now having to reassess his goals and will have at least a week off the bike in order to recover fully from the problems that ended his Giro dreams.
“I’m disappointed, of course. I think I feel worse for the people who have helped me prepare,” Dennis said.
“My coach came all the way from America to spend a week with me away from his family before the Tour of the Alps, to prepare for the Giro d’Italia. Those sort of things I feel bad about, even if I didn’t have any control of it.
“When you abandon you have the feeling it was for nothing. My priority now is to recover and get healthy, and then concentrate on the rest of the season which is far from over.”
Dennis actually rode for 78km on stage four despite waking up with a terrible headache and feeling sick. But when he was dropped on a long climb with the peloton nowhere near full speed, he knew it was time to quit.
BMC team doctor, Giovanni Ruffini, said: “We have discussed internally with BMC Racing Team Chief Medical Officer Dr. Max Testa and Rohan will undergo some tests to determine whether there is an underlying issue as a result of the crash. At this stage, Rohan will take some time off the bike to recover and depending on the result of the tests, he could be back training in 10 days.”
Jan Polanc claimed the victory on stage four after heading up a small breakaway on the climb up Mount Etna, with Bob Jungels taking over as overall leader and Geraint Thomas moving into second place just six seconds adrift.