Elisa Longo Borghini will not race the sixth stage of the Giro d'Italia Donne after suffering a severe crash on the descent of Ceres, the finish line on Tuesday.

Longo Borghini was taken to the hospital after Tuesday's stage for X-rays of his pelvis and right shoulder, but Lidl-Trek announced the same evening that no fractures were possible.

Lidle-Trek also added that she underwent a brain scan, but no injuries, and a neurological exam. In accordance with concussion protocol, Longo Borghini was also placed under the observation of a team physician.

"She had a good night and an exam this morning showed no signs of concussion. However, she is still in considerable pain and for that reason, although unfortunate, the team believes it was the right decision not to start today's Giro Donne stage."

After overshooting a corner on the technical descent of stage 5 and falling onto the shoulder, the Italian was accompanied by teammate Shirin van Unrooy, who was pedaling slowly towards the end of the stage. The stage 4 winner had been in second place overall at the start of the day and was in third place behind overall leader Annemiek van Fruten (Movistar) with less than 8 km to go.

The crash and the time it took to rejoin the race instantly erased any chance of an overall podium finish. Longo Borghini crossed the finish line in 19th place with scratches on her face and arms; the loss of over seven minutes dropped her to 17th overall.

Longo Borghini has been a strong challenger in her home Grand Tour before, finishing fourth overall last year, third overall in 2020, and second overall in 2017. He also won the youth class in 2012, his second time competing.

Although the 31-year-old is out of the 2023 Giro, the team still has Gaia Lealini as its overall contender, and the young Italian is in fifth place after stage 5, 3:14 behind Van Vleuten. However, the gap to second place is quite small, 1:07 behind Antonia Niedermeyer (Canyon-SRAM).