Juan Ayuso retired from the Giro d'Italia on Thursday, two days after Primoz Roglic, the other big pre-race favourite pulled out.
Ayuso was the designated leader of the UAE team but was only 26th overall, more than 49 minutes behind teammate Isaac Del Toro who is in the pink jersey.
Ayuso has been suffering from a knee injury since a crash on stage nine that required three stitches.
On Thursday, the 22-year-old Spaniard started the hilly 144km 18th stage from Morbegno to Cesano Maderno even though his right eye was completely closed after he was stung by a hornet the day before.
Seguramente se hablará mucho del abandono de Juan Ayuso, pero esta imagen demuestra que no estaba en condiciones de enfrentar las próximas etapas del #Giro pic.twitter.com/UjdsozWZhh
— infoadolfo (@infoadolfo) May 29, 2025
Ayuso had lost all his chances of a podium finish on Tuesday when he lost more than 12 minutes to his main rivals in the overall classification on the first big Alpine stage.
He lost more time on Wednesday.
The revelation of the 2022 Vuelta when he finished third at just 19, Ayuso had high ambitions ahead of this Giro, which he was taking part in for the first time and in which he was aiming for overall victory.
He won stage seven but crashed two days later. He quits the Giro early, a year after abandoning the Tour de France after testing positive for Covid.