Disqualified Giro Rider Speaks of Injustice, Explains Headbutt

A blatant headbutt or a misunderstood situation? Enrico Zanoncello has spoken out about his disqualification from the Giro d’Italia, insisting that there was a wider context to Sunday’s collision with Robert Donaldson.

The incident happened during the sprint finish on stage 15 to Milan. As captured by TV cameras, VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè rider Zanoncello lurched to the right and his head made contact with Donaldson’s left arm.

The Team Jayco AlUla rider lost balance and hit the ground. The UCI jury reviewed the footage and decided to disqualify Zanoncello from the race.

On first viewing, the case looks cut and dried. However Zanoncello has written his account on social media and while he apologises for what happens, he insists there is a wider context that is not being acknowledged.

“I sincerely feel sorry for the guy involved in the fall,” he wrote on social media on Monday. “I never wanted it to end this way.

“It was a very chaotic fight, I got a left shoulder, lost control of the bike and at that moment I had no space left to avoid contact. Even the headbutt was a consequence of the fact that I was trying to regain control.”

“There was never any intention to harm or endanger anyone. I’m really sorry about what happened.”

He’s not happy with the decision, believing important context was not understood by the UCI jury.

“I also this it’s an injustice to judge what happened based only on a short clip; seeing the full pictures, the dynamics seem different and clearer,” he wrote.

“Taking myself out of the responsibilities of the accident, leaving the Giro d’Italia this way hurts and it’s definitely not how I wanted it to end.”

He ended his post by wishing “all the best and a speedy recovery to those involved.”

Zanoncello finished ninth and tenth on earlier stages of the race. In addition to his disqualification, he was given a yellow card plus a fine of 1000 Swiss francs.