Mattia Cattaneo becomes fourth Deceuninck-Quick Step rider to crash in two weeks

Italy’s Mattia Cattaneo became the fourth Deceuninck-Quick Step rider to suffer a major accident in two weeks as he crashed at the Giro dell’Emilia.

Cattaneo, 29, has a fractured vertebra but will not need surgery and must rest for six to eight weeks.

Team-mate Fabio Jakobsen was badly injured in a crash at the Tour of Poland, while Remco Evenepoel fractured his pelvis in Il Lombardia on Saturday.

Yves Lampaert broke his clavicle in a crash at Milano-Torino.

Dutch sprinter Jakobsen will undergo multiple facial surgeries after a high speed crash on 5 August, while Evenepoel is not expected to need surgery despite somersaulting off his bike into a ravine after hitting a bridge at the weekend.

“I knew the downhill, as I did the race several times, but unfortunately I hit a small stone in the middle of the road with my front wheel,” Cattaneo said.

“It makes me sad, because I was confident for the upcoming races.”

Russia’s Aleksandr Vlasov claimed victory in the race in Italy.

The Astana rider won by nine seconds after passing Quick Step’s Joao Almeida with 600m to go.