Italy’s Andrea Vendrame claimed victory on stage 12 of the Giro d’Italia as compatriot and former race leader Alessandro de Marchi crashed out.
Movistar’s Marc Soler and De Marchi’s British team-mate Alex Dowsett were among those to also withdraw as the riders contended with tough conditions.
Colombian Egan Bernal remains 45 seconds ahead of Russian Aleksandr Vlasov in the overall standings.
British duo Hugh Carthy and Simon Yates stay fourth and fifth respectively.
Stage winner Vendrame, of AG2R Citroen, sprinted clear of DSM’s Chris Hamilton to take victory in Bagno di Romagna.
On an otherwise quiet day in the general classification battle, Trek-Segafredo’s Vincenzo Nibali attacked late on and gained seven seconds on the main group featuring leader Bernal, climbing to 13th overall.
Israel Start-Up Nation’s De Marchi, who wore the pink jersey for two days, crashed 20km into the race and was taken away in an ambulance.
His team confirmed the rider had broken his right collarbone and six ribs, along with his first and second thoracic vertebra – and would remain in hospital for “at least one night”.
De Marchi had previously criticised the finish to stage five which saw Mikel Landa suffer a nasty crash as “a crazy circus” and “too dangerous”.
Soler, who had been 11th overall, fell shortly after the start of the stage in Siena and was forced to stop after 50km with a back issue.
Briton Dowsett’s withdrawal was due to stomach problems while Swiss rider Gino Mader of Bahrain Victorious, winner of stage six, also left the race.
Friday’s stage 13 is a flat 198km route from Ravenna to Verona, before the riders tackle one of cycling’s toughest ascents, Monte Zoncolan, on Saturday.
Stage 13 results
1. Andrea Vendrame (Ita/AG2R-Citroen) 5:43:48
2. Chris Hamilton (Aus/DSM) same time
3. George Bennett (NZ/Jumbo-Visma) +15secs
4. Gianluca Brambilla (Ita/Trek-Segafredo) same time
5. Giovanni Visconti (Ita/Bardiani-CSF) +1min 12secs
6. Geoffrey Bouchard (Fra/AG2R-Citroen) +1min 25secs
7. Nicolas Edet (Fra/Cofidis) +1min 47secs
8. Simone Petilli (Ita/Circus-Wanty Gobert) same time
9. Mikkel Honore (Den/Deceuninck-QuickStep) +3mins
10. Simone Ravanelli (Ita/Androni Giocattoli) +4mins 19secs
General classification
1 Egan Bernal Gomez (Col/ Ineos Grenadiers) 42 hours 35mins 21secs
2 Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus/Astana-Premier Tech) +45secs
3 Damiano Caruso (Ita/Bahrain Victorious) +1min 12secs
4 Hugh Carthy (GB/EF Education-Nippo) +1min 17secs
5 Simon Yates (GB/Team BikeExchange) +1min 22secs
6 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger/Bora-Hansgrohe) +1min 50secs
7 Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Deceuninck-QuickStep) +2mins 22secs
8 Giulio Ciccone (Ita/Trek-Segafredo) +2mins 24secs
9 Tobias Foss (Nor/Jumbo-Visma) +2mins 49secs
10 Daniel Martinez Poveda (Col/Ineos Grenadiers) +3mins 15secs
