Race leader Tadej Pogačar has abandoned the Vuelta a España after a crash on stage eight.
The UAE Emirates-XRG rider appeared to have hit a small rock on the left-hand side of the road, causing him to come down – and taking other riders with him.
Pogačar, grimacing, attempted to remount his bike, before deciding that the pain was too much. Face and shoulder cut and bloodied, he was ushered towards an ambulance, and his race put to an abrupt and unexpected end. He will head straight to the hospital.
Latest Videos FromCycling Weekly
Until then, it had been an uneventful stage, with most of the peloton taking it as a kind of rest day before tomorrow’s mountain stage.
Pogačar’s crash came 31km from the stage’s finish, just after the intermediate sprint.
More to follow…
