Luke Plapp crashes on stage 3 of the Tour Down Under.

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Luke Plapp crashes on stage 3 of the Tour Down Under.

Luke Plapp (Jayco Alara) crashed on stage 3 of the men's Tour Down Under. He hit the deck with at least four other riders with 10km to go before the finish line in Campbeltown. Plapp managed to get back on his bike, but the kit on his left side was torn to shreds and he had extensive grazes and bloody skin on his shoulder and back. The fingers of his right hand were also covered in blood.

His Jayco Alura team immediately sent out the following update on social media: "In the last 10km, Australian champion Plapp had an unfortunate crash. He managed to finish the stage but lost a lot of skin.

"Cyclists are TOUGH."

The team later said in a statement, "Plapp was seen by the on-site medical team at the finish line. He has a lot of superficial wounds and his elbow and ankle are swollen. He will not go to the hospital. We will observe him overnight and make an evaluation tomorrow before the stage."

The team also said that "Plapp has been in the field for several weeks.

Even if Plapp could have joined his teammates at the start of tomorrow's stage, he was eliminated from the GC race as he finished 9:53 behind race winner Sam Welsford (Beulah Hansgrohe).

He was one of Jayco Alula's stronger riders, with last year's runner-up Simon Yates leading the team, with Plapp and Chris Harper providing options alongside him.

Cameron Scott (Bahrain Victorious), one of Phil Bauhaus' key lead-out riders, was also involved in a crash and finished over 11 minutes behind.

The Astana Kazakstan team's distinctive blue stands out in post-crash images, and the team announced that three riders were involved. The team stated on social media: "All riders have finished the stage. As for (Christian) Scaroni, (Samuele) Battistella, and (Michele) Gazzoli, we will wait for a medical update. Scaroni was the first of the trio to finish, but lost 6:26 in the stage. Rudy Morar (Groupama-FDJ) was also involved in a crash and retired.

Morar posted a photo on Instagram from the hospital in Adelaide. However, he wrote: "I'm not sure if I'm going to make it! Just needs time."

Groupama-FDJ confirmed that Morar suffered "concussion and some injuries" but no broken bones. He will be placed under 24-hour observation.

Astana Kazakstan later revealed that Scaroni hurt his left wrist but no signs of fracture, Battistella hit his back, and Gazzoli hurt his knee with road rash.

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