In-form Giovanni Visconti (Movistar) had started today's fourth stage of the Tour de Suisse in fourth overall but unfortunately the double Giro stage winner crashed early in the stage and had to abandon. Luckily, the double Giro stage winner escaped any serious injuries and will resume training in a few days.

Giovanni Visconti got his career back on track in the recent Giro d'Italia where he won two stages in solo fashion, one of them the highly anticipated one to the top of the Col du Galibier. On Saturday, he started the Tour de Suisse with the firm aim of making good use of his post-Giro condition.

Unfortunately, that campaign came to a premature end in today's fourth stage of the race. Early in the mostly flat stage, he hit the deck while travelling at high speed and after consultation with the race doctor chose to abandon.

He was immediately brought to a nearby hospital where any fractures were ruled out. A wound in his left thigh had to be stitched but otherwise he only came away from the accident with serious abrasions and loss of skin in some zones.

The accident was extra unfortunate due to Visconti's strong start to the race. An 11th place in the prologur and 9th and 6th in the first two mountain stages had moved him into 4th on GC just behind his teammate, defending champion Rui Costa. Hopes of a top result are of course now dashed and instead he will travel to Italy and hopes to resume training in a few days.

Luckily, this should allow him to maintain his strong condition for the Italian championships in a little more than a week where he hopes to take his third title. Meanwhile, his team will continue their efforts to repeat Costa's win from last year and you can follow tomorrow's stage at 16.55 on CyclingQuotes.com/live.