Cyclist Tom Dumoulin forced to stop mid-race: 'I needed to take a dump'

Tom Dumoulin's progress in the Giro d'Italia came to an unexpected halt during stage 16, as he stopped on the side of the road for an impromptu toilet break.

Dumoulin went into Tuesday's stage in possession of the leader's Maglia Rosa, but found himself playing catchup to his general classification rivals after he got off his bike with about 33 kilometers to go in the 222-kilometer stage to relieve his apparent discomfort.

The Dutchman stripped down his kit in order to answer the call of nature, but his stoppage proved to be a particularly untimely one. His rivals Nairo Quintana, Thibaut Pinot and Vincenzo Nibali quickly gained a minute and a half on Dumoulin, and he was left to rue one of the more bizarre moments in this year's race.

"I just had problems, I needed to take a dump — I couldn't hold it anymore," Dumoulin said. "It was after the Stelvio [second climb] I began to feel it in the downhill. I had to stop, it was not possible to continue anymore.

"I had to fight and fight and fight, and take conclusions after the finish. That's what I did. I'm very disappointed."

Dumoulin went into Tuesday's ride from Rovetta to Bormio with a lead of two minutes and 41 seconds over his nearest challenger, Quintana.

Nibali eventually caught Mikel Landa, the sole survivor of a break that had featured over 20 riders, with 10km left, and that pair had a lead of more than three minutes over Dumoulin at one point.

But, as Nibali edged Landa in a sprint to the line, Dumoulin recovered to come home just two minutes and 18 seconds down.

Quintana finished third — 12 seconds off the pace — giving Dumoulin a lead of 31 seconds in the overall standings after an extremely trying day.