Enrico Zanoncello was disqualified from the Giro d'Italia yesterday due to a headbutt: today the Veneto sprinter from Bardiani CSF 7 Saber posted his side of the story on Instagram. Here are his words:

"I want to say something about what happened yesterday. I'm truly sorry for the rider involved in the crash (Donaldson from Jayco AlUla, ed.). I never wanted it to end this way.

It was a very chaotic sprint: I received a shoulder charge from the left, I lost control of my bike and at that moment I had no more space to avoid contact. The headbutt was also a consequence of me trying to regain control.

There was never any intention to hit or endanger anyone. I'm really sorry for what happened. I also believe it's an injustice to judge what occurred based only on a short clip; seeing the complete footage, the dynamics appear different and clearer. This removes much of the responsibility from me for the incident.

Leaving @giroditalia this way hurts and it's absolutely not how I wanted it to end. I wish the best and a speedy recovery to everyone involved".