Disaster in the Einstein camp with The President unable to take the start line. 

It was a media frenzy this morning with Einstein Racing’s DS Jason Whittaker announced that his pink jersey wearer would not continue the Giro. “It was a shock and a blow to all of us, but having a job is the exact type of pitfall some of the riders have to contend with. It’s a tough thing, right up there with having kids, a wife, maybe some sort of civic obligation or committee. It’s lame, sure, but these things happen,” Whittaker commented, while other members of the team had to fend off the press.

Kennedy will not make the start of the third stage, and while Ty Schmidt will inherit the pink jersey with a somewhat comfortable lead over new second placed rider Eric Grassa, the other competitions are now wide open. There is a three way tie for the KOM jersey, and the sprints jersey’s top three riders are separated by just a few points, margins easily erased today.

The outlook of the KOM jersey is particularly interesting, with the expected return of Keegan Myers and Sean Kickbush almost sure to snap up some of the double points on offer over the Vasa CC Climb. Einstein will look to Jason Lowetz to take full points there, as their GC hopes are likely limited to a podium place with Cody Sovis now in third place overall. It’s also a wonderful opportunity for the sprint competition to open up, especially if the GC men ignore moves from riders looking only for points on the Power Section.

“We are certainly disappointed, but we’ll fight on. There are a lot of things left to be won out there, so we aren’t planning on coming away empty-handed over the next two stage,” finished Whittaker.

Stage Three leaved Ec tonight at 6.30pm, with the neutral roll out from the 25km lot at 6.45pm. Check back for all the results and updated points standings.