Rabobank sprinter Theo Bos is hoping for better fortunes on tomorrow’s third stage of the Giro d’Italia, having crashed in the finale of today’s race to Herning. The Dutchman was aiming to follow up on his two stage wins in the recent Presidential Tour of Turkey and was well positioned heading towards the finish, only to hit the deck on a right hand turn inside the final kilometre.
“I noticed a rider (William Bonnet) tried to pass me but I don’t think that was the reason I crashed,” he said. “Mark [Renshaw, leadout man] suddenly had to change direction at one point and I couldn’t anymore.”
He believes that if things had played out better, he could have challenged for the win. “We were really well positioned. In that turn we were exactly where we wanted to be. It all looked very well,” he said. “We were ready and my legs felt good. But unfortunately it was not to be. I hope the damage isn’t too big tomorrow because there will be other chances, for sure.”
Mark Cavendish (Sky Procycling) took the victory, beating former HTC Highroad team-mate Matt Goss (Orica GreenEdge) and Geoffrey Soupe (FDJ BigMat) to the line.
Renshaw tried to respond once his team-mate fell, but had used important energy in setting Bos and had to make do with sixth.
“Mark ended up trying,” said directeur sportif Jan Boven. “But if you set the sprint’s pace and you end up having to finish it yourself, it obviously turns out to be an impossible task. Of course you still give it a try, but this was the best that could be done.”