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Stagter in hospital, out of Giro d'Italia

Dutch cyclist Tom Slagter withdrew Thursday from the Giro d'Italia following a crash in the fifth stage in which he suffered a concussion, a fractured eye socket and facial injuries.

 Injured cyclist Tom Slagter will leave the Giro d'Italia and return to the Netherlands once he is released from a hospital in Italy.

The Dutch rider sustained a concussion, a fractured eye socket and facial injuries from a crash during Wednesday's fifth stage of the race.

The Rabobank rider spent the night in a hospital in Orvieto.

Slagter fell backward off his bike when he tried to take a water bottle during a climb.

He received immediate attention and was taken away in an ambulance.

The crash came amid heightened safety concerns after Belgian rider Wouter Weylandt died following a crash during a descent on Monday.

Riders have also expressed concern about a descent on the 14th stage in the Dolomites.