The peloton rode the 143 km from Matera to Brindisi at an average speed of 51 km/h, finishing the first hour at an average speed of 55 km/h. A breakaway group formed early on, but was quickly pulled back as a high-speed crosswind cut through the peloton and split it into smaller groups.
After a change of direction, the group reconnected, but several riders in the group crashed. All riders completed the race, but those who fell were later examined and found to have multiple injuries.
Gallopin crashed in Brindisi, 45 km from the finish. According to the team's announcement, he broke his left wrist. The length of his absence will be announced at a later date.
"The crash occurred while passing through an arch 45 km from the finish. 'It was a two-lane road and I was going very fast. I flipped the bike over and landed hard, knocking the wind out of me."
[9 [I noticed that my left wrist was broken, just as it was at the Tour de Valence in February. I was feeling good when the race started, but the Giro ended there. Of course, it's a shame to leave the race with my teammate like this."Two of Gallopin's teammates, Aurelien Pare-Pantlet and Andrea Vandrame, also went down in the same crash, both suffering from road rash on their left flank.
Three Mitchelton-Scott riders (Affini, Damien Howson, and Lucas Hamilton) also fell, and on Friday evening the team announced that Affini was out of the race due to a broken metacarpal in his finger.
"Unfortunately, Edoardo will not start tomorrow as he has fractured the third metacarpal of his right hand and will require surgery," Mitchelton Scott posted on social media.
"Damien has also injured his hand, but will start tomorrow and continue to monitor his progress.
Jakob Fuglsang (Astana), seventh overall, was also involved in the crash but said he was not seriously injured.
"There was a small crash, but nothing serious. Overall, I am happy with today's result. On a day like today, you lose a lot and gain a lot," Fuglsang said.
Two-time stage winner Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) was involved in a crash with 45km to go, but did not crash and finished safely in the pack to take the Maria Azura.
CCC team leader Ilnur Zakarin was also involved in the same crash, but was able to rejoin the main group.
"Kochetkov will undergo an X-ray to analyze the extent of his injuries," a CCC team statement said.
Sunweb's Chad Haga said he almost crashed but managed to finish the stage unscathed. He said the crash, which occurred with 45 km to go, occurred on a section where the peloton passed under a banner and could have been avoided.
"Of all the unnecessary reasons to crash, the easiest to fix would be the gantries marked every 5 km. A peloton at 60 km/h must suddenly narrow by two meters to fit between the head unit and a sign that tells the director the same thing. TV viewers also have graphics," Haga said.
"Thankfully we were spared millimeter units today, but many riders will be in pain for some time after that. Ironically, removing these gantries would be the only rider safety measure that would save organizers a lot of work."
On Saturday morning, EF Pro Cycling announced on Twitter that Sean Bennett would also be unable to start stage 8 due to a broken wrist.
"Unfortunately, Sean fractured his left navicular bone in a stage 7 crash and has been forced to abandon the Giro d'Italia. We wish him a speedy recovery," the team wrote.
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