Mike O'Connor
Australian sprint hopes at the 2026 Giro d’Italia have suffered another setback, with Kaden Groves abandoning the race during Stage 4 as he continued to battle the effects of his opening-stage crash in Burgas.
The Alpecin-Premier Tech sprinter entered the race as one of the leading contenders for the early bunch finishes, but his Giro quickly went off course after he was caught in the major crash that interrupted the Stage 1 finale won by Paul Magnier.
The Queenslander pushed through the opening days in Bulgaria and made the transfer to Italy with the race, although he admitted before Stage 4 that he was still feeling the impact of the fall.
“I’ll take it day by day and see how things are on the climb. I don’t need to risk anything,” Groves told TNT Sports before the stage from Catanzaro to Cosenza.
The first Italian stage overnight was always expected to be a difficult one for the pure sprinters, with the long climb of Cozzo Tunno and a technical uphill run to the finish in Cosenza.
For Groves, though, the bigger issue remained the soreness from the Stage 1 crash, particularly around his shoulder, head and neck.
After around 40 kilometres of racing, the 27-year-old stepped off his bike and called time on his Giro campaign.
🏥 Unfortunately, Kaden Groves has abandoned the Giro d’Italia during today’s stage.
The Australian rider is still suffering from the aftermath of his crash during the opening stage of the race and was unable to recover sufficiently to continue the Giro.
We wish Kaden a speedy… pic.twitter.com/8TtWO9CGYW— Alpecin – Premier Tech (@AlpecinPT) May 12, 2026
It continues a frustrating run for the Australian, whose build-up to the race had already been disrupted by a knee injury earlier in the season. Groves came into the Giro short on racing kilometres, having not competed since Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne in early March.
Even so, there had been confidence he could feature heavily in the sprint stages after claiming Giro stage wins in both 2023 and 2025.
Instead, Groves joins the growing list of riders whose races have already been ended by crashes during the opening week.
Among those forced out are Australian Jay Vine, along with Adam Yates, Marc Soler, Santiago Buitrago, Andrea Vendrame, Wilco Kelderman and Matteo Moschetti.
Jhonatan Narváez claimed victory on Stage 4 after emerging fastest from a reduced front group on the uphill finish into Cosenza. Orluis Aular finished second, while Giulio Ciccone crossed the line in third and moved into the overall race lead.
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Mike O’Connor – A keen cyclist, runner and photographer, Mike O’Connor is the Editor of Bicycling Australia. He manages the BA website and social media, and loves promoting the achievements of Australian cyclists.
