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Video: Geraint Thomas and Adam Yates vow to fight on after Giro d’Italia crash hits GC hopes

British duo disappointed but refuse to throw in the towel

Geraint Thomas has vowed to fight on and ‘use the aggression’ at the 2017 Giro d’Italia after seeing his GC hopes all-but-ended by a crash on stage nine.

Thomas, Team Sky co-leader Mikel Landa and fellow Brit Adam Yates (Orica-Scott) were all taken down in a crash on the lower slopes of Blockhaus, as Nairo Quintana (Movistar) won the stage to claim the race lead.

– Thomas and Yates crash as Quintana takes charge of Giro d’Italia on stage nine –

Thomas lost more than five minutes on the stage, having started the day second overall, but is refusing to throw in the towel.

“It’s just about keeping fighting,” he told the team website. “We kept fighting today and never gave up. It could have been a lot worse.

“We lost five minutes but I felt like I lost three or four of those on the side of the road – so the legs are obviously decent.

“I’ll aim to have a good rest day tomorrow, give the TT a good bash and then see where we stand.

Geraint Thomas says he’ll use the aggression and race hard as he bids to climb back up the general classification after his crash (pic – Sirotti)

“It’s obviously going to be super hard to win the overall now, but there are still stages to go for and we might still be able to move up into the top 10 or better.

“At the moment, I just want to use the aggression, race hard and see what I can get out of it.

“I’ve had worse crashes. My shoulder is sore but it’s nothing I can’t deal with. There’s a lot more racing to be had so we’ll get stuck in.”

Yates also vowed to keep fighting, insisting one ‘unfortunate situation’ would not allow months of preparation go to waste.

“I’m bitterly disappointed with today’s unfortunate situation, but the Giro isn’t over for us yet,” he told his team website.

“I came here in great condition after months of hard work and that form hasn’t gone anywhere.

“We have two more hard weeks ahead of us and I’m more motivated than ever to get a result and climb back up the general classification.”

Adam Yates believes his form is good, and hopes to use it bounce back (pic: Sirotti)

Yates heads into the second rest day in 16th place, 4’49” down overall, while Thomas is one place and a further 25 seconds back.

In the battle for the white jersey, meanwhile, Yates – who was wearing the jersey when he crashed, as Bob Jungels (QuickStep Floors) was in pink – is now fourth.

Davide Formolo (Cannondale-Drapac) took over the youth classification lead from Jungels, and is 2’04” ahead of Yates; Jungels is at 45 seconds and stage four winner Jan Polanc at 2’01”.

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