Chris Anker Sørensen (Tinkoff-Saxo) was one of several rides to go down in a crash on the first descent of today's Giro d'Italia stage. Despite a concussion, the Dane managed to finish the stage less than 8 minutes after his teammate Michael Rogers had taken the win.

While teammate, Michael Rogers thundered towards the finish line to conquer today’s Giro d’Italia stage win, the Danish climber,  Chris Anker Sørensen was in intense agony fighting his way through the stage with a full body road rash and a concussion.

“The last thing I remember, we were chasing a small group on a descent and in high pace I went down in a bend as the bike disappeared under me due to road gravel," he said. "I don’t have any recollection of the next 20-25 kilometers due to the concussion. The next thing I do remember was a conversation with my DS.

"Needless to say I’m sore all over and I feared a broken hand but I think it’s just badly bruised. Otherwise, I’m bruised the usual place, hips, elbow and back. However, I hope to be back on the bike tomorrow and we’ll then see how the body responds. Hopefully, I’ll be of some use this weekend."

Chris Anker Sørensen finished the stage in 59th position. 7 minutes and 52 seconds behind Rogers. He will be thoroughly examined later tonight.