Caleb Ewan's "Giro from hell" is over, with the Australian cycling star pulling out midway through the three-week grand tour after a succession of setbacks.
His Lotto Soudal team has confirmed that Ewan will not start stage 12 of the Giro d'Italia.
While Ewan's withdrawal was planned, it had been a frustrating 11 stages for the sprint ace.
He crashed at the end of stage one and his best result was a second, behind sprint rival Arnaud Demare, on stage six.
The low point came in stage 10, when Ewan was dropped and finished last.
"The Giro from hell continued for me today," Ewan posted on Instagram after stage 10.
"Got dropped around 80km to go alone and just made it within the time limit.
"Since my crash on the first stage, I feel like my Giro just keeps going downhill."
Ewan could only manage fifth in stage 11, which was won by Alberto Dainese, and that proved Ewan's last opportunity for a result at the Giro.
"As initially planned, the Australian will leave the Giro during the second week of racing," Lotto Soudal said in a team statement.
"With plenty of mountain stages coming up, together with the team, it was decided that Ewan will be heading home.
"Following a short period of rest, the sprinter will build up towards his next big goal of the season, the Tour de France, where he will also be targeting victories in the sprint stages."
The Giro was Ewan's first grand tour since the Tour de France last year, when he crashed out at the end of stage four with a broken collarbone that took longer than expected to heal.
One of the world's top sprinters, Ewan has won five Tour de France stages, another five at the Giro and one at the other grand tour, the Vuelta a España.
Ewan has ridden in five Giros and never finished any, instead hunting for wins in early sprint stages before pulling out and preparing for July's Tour de France.
AAP
