Trek Factory Racing cyclist. blames 'd***head' fan for joining peloton and causing Giro d'Italia crash

A member of the public was blamed for causing a crash on the Giro d'Italia's second stage, with Trek Factory Racing's Eugenio Alafaci claiming a man rode into the peloton.

In a chaotic finish to Sunday's racing, there were two major crashes - one with 40 kilometres remaining and another at the 20km mark - with Etixx-Quick Step's Pieter Serry withdrawing following the latter incident as numerous riders fell.

Elia Viviani (Team Sky) eventually claimed line honours in Genoa.

Alafaci went on social media to blame a member of the public afterwards.

"If I get hold of the d***head that had the bright idea to jump in with the peloton on a fixed bike with 10km to go, making us fall " the 24-year-old Italian wrote on Twitter before adding a couple of angry-face emoticons.

Alafaci wrote a similar post on his Facebook page, revealing his team-mate Marco Coledan was involved in the crash, before adding: "Great to see so many people in the street to cheer, but unfortunately there are also many d***heads Luckily [at Trek] it was nothing serious though Marco is nice and scraped It is better to turn the page!"

In a statement on Etixx-Quick Step's website, the team announced Serry had strained ligaments in his right shoulder.

The Belgian had only just recovered from a broken collarbone at the Volta a Catalunya.

"I did my best to come back and be ready for this Giro," Serry said in a statement.

"I think I was ready and in good shape to help Rigo [Rigoberto Uran]. It's a pity for me, and also the team, because they counted on me for this grand tour.

"But honestly, after the crash, during the kilometres I was trying to ride, I had terrible pain and couldn't hold my handlebar with my right arm."

IAM Cycling's Heinrich Haussler fell in both crashes but avoided serious injury.

"I'm okay, I'm just p***** off I crashed " the Australian national champion told Cyclingnews.

"It's the first stage of a Grand Tour, everyone is fresh and it gets hectic for the sprinting. That's the way it is."