Mikel Landa Out of the Giro — Pelvis Fracture Confirmed After Itzulia Crash

Mikel Landa is out of the 2026 Giro d’Italia. Follow-up scans have confirmed a pelvic fracture — one that initial hospital examinations missed entirely — sustained when the race doctor’s car struck him on a fast descent during stage 2 of the Itzulia Basque Country on 7 April.

The fracture is described by Soudal Quick-Step as small, and it has already started to heal. That’s cold comfort. With the Grande Partenza in Nessebar now eleven days away — 8 May — the recovery timeline makes a start impossible. Landa becomes the second major GC name to pull out within hours, following João Almeida’s withdrawal earlier this week, and the race’s overall classification is beginning to look genuinely threadbare.

The Itzulia Crash — and Its Consequences

It happened with roughly 10 kilometres left on stage 2, Pamplona-Iruña to Cuevas de Mendukilo. On a narrow, high-speed descent, Landa was clipped by the race doctor’s vehicle. Soudal Quick-Step CEO Jurgen Foré spoke to Het Nieuwsblad that evening — and he wasn’t hiding his anger.

“The doctor’s car simply knocked Mikel Landa off the track on a narrow and fast descent. We do everything for safety, and then something like this happens. As a team, you are left with nothing, yet you take the consequences.” — Jurgen Foré, Soudal Quick-Step CEO

Race commissaires removed driver Santiago Blanco from the event, issued a 500 CHF fine, and handed him a yellow card for breaching vehicle movement regulations. Landa, somehow, rode to the finish — the stage was won in commanding fashion by Paul Seixas — then withdrew the following morning. Hospital scans at the time returned clear. No fracture detected. It was only under continued monitoring by the team’s medical staff in the weeks that followed that the pelvic fracture finally came to light.

“I had been experiencing some discomfort, but the type of fracture made it difficult to fully identify at first. Now that we have clarity, I can focus fully on my recovery.” — Mikel Landa

A Giro Career Defined by Near-Misses and Bad Luck

For Landa, this is a particular kind of cruelty. He has spent the better part of a decade chasing the Giro podium — and the race has spent that same decade finding new ways to deny him. Third in 2015 alongside Contador. On the podium again in 2022. Agonisingly fourth in 2019, missing the podium by eight seconds after the Verona time trial. He claimed the mountains jersey in 2017 and has three stage wins to his name. Last year, the opening stage in Albania ended with a Th11 vertebra fracture. He didn’t finish. This spring, his intentions were clear.

“We have a score to settle with the Giro d’Italia after what happened last year. Let’s see if it goes better this time.” — Mikel Landa, earlier in 2026

The 2026 Giro would have been his ninth start at the Corsa Rosa. He will not get it.

A GC Field That Is Rapidly Disintegrating

The withdrawals are stacking up at a remarkable pace. João Almeida — UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s designated leader and runner-up at last year’s Vuelta — has already pulled out, citing poor condition after a prolonged illness. Richard Carapaz, who underwent surgery for a perineal condition just five weeks before the start, remains on the startlist, but his participation is far from certain.

Step back and look at the broader picture. Simon Yates, who won the 2025 Giro with a decisive attack on the Colle delle Finestre, has retired. Isaac del Toro — who stunned the peloton by finishing second that day as a 20-year-old — has pivoted to the Tour de France. Carapaz, third in 2025, remains in doubt. If Carapaz also withdraws, every rider from last May’s Corsa Rosa podium will be absent from the 2026 edition.

Soudal Quick-Step head to Bulgaria with a squad now built around Jasper Stuyven, Paul Magnier, and Filippo Zana. UAE will likely lean on Jay Vine and Adam Yates to fill the void Almeida leaves behind.

The 109th Giro d’Italia covers 3,466 kilometres and 48,700 metres of climbing across 21 stages — starting in Nessebar on 8 May, finishing in Rome on 31 May. The GC field has rarely arrived at a Grande Partenza looking this unsettled.