What you may not have seen: Ballerini almost knocked over by car, Healy and Rubio ‘fight’ for mountain points

Today four tough climbs were on the menu. During one of the climbs, Davide Ballerini (Soudal Quick-Step) narrowly avoided a collision with a support car from Intermarché-Circus-Wanty.

The images below show how the 28-year-old Italian wants to overtake the support car in a bend, just when that car itself also passes another car. Fortunately, Ballerini had fast reflexes and was able to turn to the left just in time.

🚴🇮🇹 | What a save from Davide Ballerini 🥵😯#Giro

📺 You can watch the course on discovery+ pic.twitter.com/ZKObrqRPQA

— Eurosport Netherlands (@Eurosport_NL) May 21, 2023

A second incident took place in the battle for the mountain jersey. Ben Healy and Einer Rubio, who both already won a stage, both went for the full booty and almost literally fought to get to the top first. They used their elbows and shoulders. The Irish spring revelation finally took full advantage.

𝙀𝙡𝙗𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙩 👀

A spot of argy-bargy between Ben Healy and Einer Rubio for King of the Mountain points ⛰️#giroditalia pic.twitter.com/dfiAUyTG9f

— Eurosport (@eurosport) May 21, 2023

On the next climb they battled again for the mountain points, but it was a lot more peaceful. This time the Colombian won and immediately afterwards she made it clear with a fist that the incident has been settled.

Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) eventually won the stage. The 25-year-old American beat Ben Healy and Marco Frigo in a sprint with three.