Tom Dumoulin, general classification leader of the Giro d’Italia,  abruptly pulled over during stage 16  yesterday.  The reason wasn’t immediately clear. The race was ramping up for the final 30 kilometers, a terrible time in the race for a flat or other technical.

The reason became much more clear as he took off his gear and squatted to take a roadside poop.

#Giro100 ?️Tom Dumoulin: “I needed to take a dump [???]… Im just disappointed” @tom_dumoulin pic.twitter.com/skdmdeK5f2

– Brain on Wheels ? (@BrainOnWheels) May 23, 2017

I get it, my wife gets to experience my “poo-mergency” run to house from my garage gym on leg days, I’ve also been 30 miles from home, in the middle of nowhere, when nature has called. Not a great situation to be in. Thirty kilometers from the finish of a grand tour stage, while wearing the leaders jersey, however, is a very shitty situation indeed. Literally, not quite the chamois butter Tom was looking for.

Dumoulin’s poop break sparked a minor controversy. In stage 15, he had slowed down the peloton after Nairo Quintana crashed. After Dumoulin’s emergency, however, Ilnur Zakarin attacked to threaten the Dutchman’s lead. Is a poop  the same as a crash?

It might just be the cycling  question of our time.

Vincenzo Nibali ended up winning the stage. Dumoulin is still the race leader, with Quintana 31 seconds behind him. Perhaps Dumoulin will be able to flush his stage 16 embarrassment with a Giro win.