Historic news in the Vuelta: Pogacar abandons after a hard crash
The Slovenian cyclist does not finish a stage race for the first time in his professional career
BarcelonaLa Vuelta is left without its top exponent. When everything suggested that Tadej Pogacar would give his rivals no chance and, after the Tour, would add another competition to his palmarès, the Slovenian crashed out on the eighth stage and will not be able to continue wearing the red jersey.
Pogacar suffered a hard fall 32 kilometers from the finish and had to abandon by ambulance with pain in his left collarbone and his shoulder full of blood. The UAE Teams Emirates cyclist tried to continue without success. The incident occurred on this Saturday's stage, which took place between Puçol and Xeraco, in the Valencian Community. Awaiting the stage's conclusion, the Balearic rider Enric Mas —until now second— could become the new leader of the general classification.
It is the first time that Pogacar has abandoned a stage race as a professional after ten years competing at the highest level. After three victories in this edition, Pogacar made a statement in Andorra, where he finished as the solo leader with more than two and a half minutes ahead of his pursuers.
It is not the only unforeseen event that the competition has encountered. Jonas Vingegaard —another of the leading figures in current cycling— could not participate in the current edition due to a fall while competing in the Tour de France, which he also had to abandon.