Dog on the loose brings down leading rider at Giro d’Italia

World champion Remco Evenepoel gave a thumbs up after getting back on his bike, while the dog also appeared to be unharmed

The dog runs into the peloton (Eurosport)

There were chaotic scenes during stage five of the Giro d’Italia as a stray dog ran into the road and caused a huge crash that brought down leading rider Remco Evenepoel.

The world champion Evenepoel was among the favourites to win the stage but fell off his bike on the right side of the road after the loose animal ran towards the peloton from the left, forcing Evenepoel’s teammate Davide Ballerini to swerve out of its way on the wet road.

Evenepoel was seen to by a Soudal-QuickStep doctor as the confusion left the Belgian sitting by the side of the road, with the race continuing. However, Evenepoel quickly got back onto his bike and gave a thumbs up to the TV cameras as he began riding again.

Evenepoel, who won the pink jersey across the first three stages, returned to the rolling peloton with around 150km of the stage to Salerno in southern Italy remaining.

Rainy conditions and a wet road surface contributed to the pile-up, but no riders appeared to be hurt by the crash.

The dog also appeared to be unharmed as it scampered black to the pavement with its tail between its legs.

Andreas Leknessund seized the leader’s maglia rosa jersey from Evenepoel in Tuesday’s stage four from Venosa to Lago Laceno.

Leknessund’s rise into the lead was part of a shake-up in the overall standings, with the Norwegian 28 seconds ahead of Evenepoel in second before stage five.

The Belgian remains among the favourites to claim overall victory.