The Tour of Lombardy got the winner everyone expected on Saturday, but there was still plenty to see before and after the world champion exploded on the Passo di Ganda. Both the leaders of EF Education-EasyPost and Q36.5 crashed in the notoriously tricky hairpin bends of Lombardy.Already in the pre-finale, things went wrong for Tom Pidcock. After around 200 kilometers of racing, the 26-year-old Brit from Q36.5 suddenly found himself on the side of the road, during the descent from the Madonna del Ghisallo. He quickly got back on his bike and didn’t appear seriously hurt, but when he looked down at his left shoe, something clearly wasn’t right.
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Pidcock swaps shoes mid-descent in the Tour of Lombardy
Having lost contact with the peloton, Pidcock had no choice but to keep going with a damaged shoe… until, mid-descent, he took off his left shoe once the team car arrived. It made for some remarkable footage, not the first time with the ever-bold Pidcock. Once he rejoined the favorites’ group, however, he played no further part in the battle for the podium.
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Carapaz crashes hard on descentRichard Carapaz seemed to come off worse physically. The EF rider was fighting for a top-ten spot on the Passo di Ganda when he pushed his limits on the downhill, and suddenly went down in a corner. His bike ended up propped against a rock, while Carapaz himself lay upside down beside it.Fortunately, Carapaz escaped without any fractures, his team reported on Saturday evening via its official channels. “Richie suffered road rash but escaped bony injuries in his crash. Initial tests cleared him of concussion, but our medical team will continue to monitor him in the coming days.”