The Italian and European champion had been struggling with the ailment for a number of days which eventuated in him being forced to abandon the race just over 80km into the stage. He will now return home and undergo further medical examination after which an update will follow in due course.
The stage was won by Nans Peters (AGR) who took a famous solo win ahead of Toms Skuijns (TFS) with Carlos Verona (MOV) in third.
Our other seven riders all finished safely with Domenico Pozzovivo continuing to fight on despite the arm injury he sustained in the opening stage of the race.
Giacomo Nizzolo
It was tough, it was not a nice feeling to be honest. Today I started the stage with pain and I thought it would get better but unluckily it was not the case. I fought for 50km but then when we saw that it was not really getting better we decided to stop so as not to cause any further damage.
The fighting spirit is in this team and Pozzo is an example, but everyone is fighting on the bike because it’s a very hard Tour de France and I’m sure the day will come for us. I’m also sure that we will keep fighting and that they have the legs to do great things.
For sure that’s one of the reason we pushed the pain but we didn’t want to create any damage that we can’t fix in two weeks because I’m definitely looking ahead to the Classics or the next races of the season, and that’s why I need to recover.
Domenico Pozzovivo
Stage 8 was a very hard, tough day and I suffered a lot because of my left elbow as well as the fact that the road all day was bumpy. I tried to finish in a group without spending too much energy and I was in a lot of pain.
Today the plan was to try and get into the breakaway but the start was very fast and the breakaway went so early that I couldn’t catch it. Then I decided to not go so deep because I suffered again due to my elbow but then also keeping some energy for tomorrow’s stage.
Please visit the following link for the downloadable audio of the riders for rights-free usage, here (https://bit.ly/3lTMkWl).
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of NTT Pro Cycling.
Media Contact:
Jean Smyth (Head of Communications)
Email: jean@ryder.co.za
Mobile: +27 63 4701 1710 or +31 625 739 033
About NTT Pro Cycling:
Founded in 2007, NTT Pro Cycling (formerly Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka) (www.NTTProCycling.com) became the first-ever African cycling team to gain a WorldTour license, in 2016. With the support of our headline sponsor and technology innovation partner, NTT, we are the most purpose-driven, performance-led, and technology-enabled team in pro cycling today.
Our ambition is to continue to race at the highest levels in world cycling, to develop riders to realise their full potential and to inspire and motivate people across the African continent to ride bicycles.
We have bases in South Africa, Denmark, the Netherlands and Italy.
We also ride to raise awareness for Qhubeka, a global charity operating in South Africa, through our #BicyclesChangeLives campaign.
The hands on the back of the team race jersey are a reminder that every Qhubeka bicycle is a helping hand up to a beneficiary, which are provided through Qhubeka's learn-to-earn and work-to-earn programmes
About Qhubeka:
Qhubeka (www.Qhubeka.org) is a charity that moves people forward with bicycles. People earn bicycles through our programmes, improving their access to schools, clinics and jobs.
A bicycle is a tool that helps people to travel faster and further, and to carry more. In the face of extreme and persistent poverty, bicycles can change lives by helping to address socioeconomic challenges at the most basic level – helping people to get where they need to go.
About NTT Ltd. :
NTT Ltd. (www.hello.global.NTT) is a global technology services company bringing together the expertise of leaders in the field, including NTT Communications, Dimension Data and NTT Security. We partner with organizations around the world to shape and achieve outcomes through intelligent technology solutions. For us, intelligent means data driven, connected, digital and secure. As a global ICT provider, we employ more than 40,000 people in a diverse and dynamic workplace and deliver services in over 200 countries and regions. Together we enable the connected future.
Visit us at our new website: www.hello.global.NTT
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