It was a tale of two fortunes for Belkin at the Giro d'Italia. While the team's second GC captain, Steven Kruijswijk crashed out of contention, Wilco Kelderman came back from a crash to take an impressive 7th.

Wilco Kelderman from Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM sprinted to seventh in Thursday's rainy 257km sixth stage at the Giro d'Italia marred by a massive crash with 11km to go. Several Belkin riders were involved in the crash, including Kelderman, Steven Kruijswijk, Jetse Bol, and Rick Flens. 

"It was a terrible crash," said Belkin Sports Director Frans Maassen. "It was a big mess. It seemed almost every team had riders involved." 

Maassen was heading to a local hospital for check-ups with Kruijswijk and Flens. Kruijswijk, who started the Giro as the team's second GC option behind Kelderman, lost 15:08. 

Dozens of riders crashed on a rain-slickened traffic circle just as the peloton was hitting speeds topping 65kph in the final approach to the final 8km climb to the finish line at Montecassino. 

"That's racing in the south of Italy. When it started to rain, it became very slippery," Maassen said. "We knew it would be very dangerous, and we saw that with the massive crash." 

Kelderman went down in the tangle of bikes and bodies, but quickly joined a lead chase group. Michael Matthews won the stage to defend the leader's jersey, but Kelderman led the chasing group to claim seventh, climbing into 11th at 2:11 back. 

"Wilco finished seventh, and that's really good considering the situation, but it's not so nice for the rest," Maassen said. "It was not a lucky day for us." 

Kelderman saved the day, limiting his losses on a day when many GC favourites lost time. It wasn't so lucky for Kruijswijk or Flens, who finished the stage with his flayed jersey flapping in the wind. Both were transported to a local hospital, where doctors would make a diagnosis of their injuries. Maassen said the team would discuss strategy back at the team hotel later Thursday evening. 

The 97th Giro continues Friday with the 211km seventh stage from Frosinone to Foligno.