Cycling: Geraint Thomas pulls out of Giro d'Italia

Team Sky's British rider Geraint Thomas has decided to retire from the Giro d'Italia following a crash he suffered on Sunday. The crash was caused by a police motorbike that stopped on the left side of the road while the riders were going at full speed ahead of the day's final ascent. Thomas was ninth overall ahead of that stage but ended up losing more than five minutes to stage winner Nairo Quintana of team Movistar. Geraint Thomas received medical care during the rest day on Monday and then had a very good ride on Tuesday, finishing second in the time trial. He was fifteenth overall after that stage but with a delay of nearly seven minutes behind race leader Tom Dumoulin. "Obviously it's never nice to leave a race early, especially when it's your main goal of the season, but I have to look at the bigger picture," Thomas said. "I'd love to continue, but I've been suffering since my crash on Sunday. I've had an issue with my shoulder which is manageable, but my knee has also been getting worse each day." Tom Dumoulin leads the overall classification ahead of this weekend's mountain stages, with Nairo Quintana 2 minutes and 23 seconds behind in second place and Vincenzo Nibali another 24 seconds back in fifth place. Nairo Quintana is 8/11 at Bet365 to win the Giro d'Italia, current leader Tom Dumoulin is 13/8 to win it, while local favourite Vincenzo Nibali is 8/1.