For Lopez, the hilly opening to the 172-kilometre stage took its toll almost instantly and as the breakaway formed, he climbed off his bike.
The 28-year-old was seen talking to his team car shortly after two crashes left several riders needing medical attention, with Astana Qazaqstan later confirming Lopez had aggravated a thigh injury.
“Miguel Angel had some thigh problems for a few days already,” team doctor Emilio Magni said.
“We tried to do our best to solve it during the first stages in Budapest and during the rest day, but it did not work. Today, unfortunately, he had to stop.
“Our first diagnosis is the tendon inflammation to the left quadriceps due to probable overload or (an) old injury. But, in the next days the rider will pass (a) deep medical check-up to find the exact cause of the injury to start the appropriate treatment.”
It’s the fourth consecutive Grand Tour in which Lopez has failed to finish, having crashed out of the 2020 Giro, and abandoned the 2021 Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana.
The most dramatic of these was his abandonment of the 2021 Vuelta, when he climbed off the bike while sitting in third overall on the penultimate stage after receiving little support from his team during the stage.
His absence for the journey to Nicolosi meant teammate Nibali would be next to assume the leader’s responsibilities, though the Italian soon hit some major hurdles of his own.
Nibali’s challenge cracked on Mount Etna; falling behind with seven kilometres remaining on the volcano and unable to keep pace with a field led by Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers).
A Giro d’Italia champion in 2013 and 2016, the man affectionately known as ‘the Shark’ had hoped to reclaim the maglia rosa in 2022. Instead, he fell 4’16 seconds behind current overall leader Juan Pedro Lopez (Trek-Segafredo).
Nibali was not the only past winner to struggle on Etna, however, with Jumbo-Visma’s Dumoulin losing ground on the peloton with around 10 kilometres remaining.
The 2017 champion produced a strong performance in the opening time trial in Budapest but failed to back that up once the gradient rose to 14 per cent on Tuesday.
Dumoulin was dropped by the aforementioned favourites with a deficit far too large to overcome in the 17 stages remaining, and the 31-year-old later conceded: “I’m just not feeling good”.
“I worked hard to get here in the best shape possible,” he told reporters at the finish line.
“Everything was OK, but I just don’t have the legs at the moment. I don’t know why, but it is like it is.”
“It’s not coming out anymore,” he added. “The body no longer reacts the way I want.
“My legs are full. I no longer have the power I had a few years ago. Those were not fun kilometres.”
The Giro d’Italia continues tonight with Stage 5 LIVE via SBS On Demand from 7:20pm (AEST), with the SBS broadcast starting at 11pm (AEST). WA viewers can tune in on SBS VICELAND from 9pm (AWST).
