A heavy crash in the final kilometre of the second stage of the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali has cost Koen Bouwman a probable stage win. He did finish the stage - he even became sixth - but was taken to the hospital for further inspection. There he was treated for multiple abrasions in his face and a painful thumb. In addition, he had broken his front teeth. Despite his crash, Bouwman has climbed to the third place in the overall standings.

Sports director Sierk Jan de Haan said that Bouwman is convinced that he would have won the stage if he hadn’t crashed in the hilly stage to Sogliano al Rubicone.
“In the final corner he crashed really hard on the wet surface. Otherwise he would have won the stage and on top of that he would have been the new overall leader. It is a pity that he crashed, but this is also part of cycling. Winning and losing aren’t far apart.”

“However, the team was really strong today”, De Haan continued. “In the run-up to the three local laps, the team continuously controlled the race. Everyone was really strong. In the last lap we had three riders in the front with Koen, Neilson Powless and Enrico Battaglin.”