Geraint Thomas' future at the 2020 Giro d'Italia will depend on further medical checks on Tuesday morning before stage 4.

Thomas suffered a major crash on stage 3 of the Giro d'Italia. The race had not yet officially started, but the peloton was speeding through the downhill sections. Thomas, who was riding on the right side of the road, lost his balance and hit the sidewalk and the curb on his left side. Thomas got up and continued racing, but just before the final climb to Mt. Etna, he began to lose ground.

Thomas was carried to the summit by the pace of his teammates, including overnight race leader Filippo Ganna and Rohan Dennis, but when Thomas crossed the finish line, he was 12:19 behind stage winner Jonathan Caicedo (EF Pro Cycling) His Giro d'Italia dream was in tatters. After the stage, Thomas underwent X-rays at the hospital, but the Ineos medical team confirmed that no fractures were found.

"Gelant fell on his left side and suffered a big impact behind his left hip and has abrasions on his left arm and leg. After the stage he was X-rayed at the finish.

"The initial X-ray showed no fractures, but we are waiting for confirmation tomorrow morning. We will treat him tonight, continue to follow up, and check again in the morning."

While Thomas' GC hopes have been ended, Ineos and his leaders may hope that if the injury is superficial, he can use the next few days to recover before attempting a stage win. If the race cannot continue, the Welsh rider may be forced to end his season early and begin preparations for 2021. Leaving the race would give him time to recover and possibly compete in the Vuelta a España, but it would mean another change in Ineos' Grand Tour strategy.

Thomas is no stranger to bad luck at the Giro d'Italia. In 2017, while leading Team Sky, he crashed into a badly parked moto, forcing him to leave the race a few days later.

The Welshman was originally scheduled to race in the Tour de France, but his poor form led to a change of registration to the Giro d'Italia, where he finished second in the Tirreno-Adriatico and fourth in the time trial of the UCI Road World Championships in Imola, and was in great form He went into the race in great form. He was fourth again in the opening time trial of the first stage of the Giro, and entered Monday's third stage in third place overall. He is now 53rd overall, 11:17 behind Maria Rosa.