08/29/26 11:53:00
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08/29 11:51 CDT Race leader Tadej Pogacar pulls out of Spanish Vuelta after
crashing during Stage 8
Race leader Tadej Pogacar pulls out of Spanish Vuelta after crashing during
Stage 8
XERACO, Spain (AP) --- Five-time Tour de France champion and overwhelming
favorite Tadej Pogacar pulled out of the Spanish Vuelta after crashing during
the eighth stage of the race on Saturday.
The Slovenian held a big lead in the race but got caught in a crash about 33
kilometers (20.5 miles) from the finish. He tried to get back on his bike but
could not carry on and walked to an ambulance. Race organizers confirmed he
pulled out of the race.
The UAE Team Emirates leader was trying to become the ninth male rider to win
all three Grand Tour races. Pogacar won the Tour de France for a third straight
time and a record-tying fifth overall in July, and he claimed the Giro d'Italia
win in 2024. He had not raced in the Vuelta since making his Grand Tour debut
at the event in 2019.
TV footage showed Pogacar with cuts on his head as well as his left arm and
shoulder. Pogacar swerved to his right, into other cyclists, as he appeared to
try to avoid something in the road. The Tour de France champion lost control
and flew over his handlebars, hitting his head and shoulder.
UAE Team Emirates sports manager Matxin Joxean Fernandez said after the stage
that Pogacar had needed stitches in his eyebrow and elsewhere.
"It's no one's responsibility. ... It's simply one of those things that happens
in cycling, unfortunately," Fernandez said. "He initially wanted to keep going,
but we saw he was in a lot of pain in his shoulder and decided he couldn't
continue. There isn't much else to say.
"After seven days Tadej was happy and it's a very big shame for him, cycling is
about good and bad and (we hope) Tadej recovers as soon as possible because
hopefully it's not something too bad, we're not going to think about that right
now but we'll see what the doctor says."
Pogacar --- who had led since winning the opening stage --- had an advantage of
3 minutes, 50 minutes over Enric Mas of Movistar before Saturday's stage, which
did not feature any major difficulty and offered sprinters a chance to shine
along a flat 171-kilometer (106-mile) route from Puol to Xeraco. Bryan
Coquard, from the Cofidis team, claimed the stage win ahead of Mads Pedersen
and Jordi Meeus.
Mas took the race leader's jersey from Pogacar, becoming the first Spanish
rider to lead the race since Jesus Herrada in 2018. Felix Gall stood second
overall, 1:11 off the pace, with Primoz Roglic in third place.
The 31-year-old Mas did not put on the leader's red jersey when he was
presented with it in the post-race ceremony, instead just holding it up. He was
also not wearing it in television interviews after the stage.
"To get the red jersey thanks to a crash, it's not a good feeling," he told
Eurosport in translated comments. "We'll try to defend it tomorrow but tonight
we need to assimilate what happened and give Tadej all our support and
hopefully he will recover soon. We decided with the team that I was not going
to wear the red jersey (today) and then if I deserve it tomorrow, I will wear
it."
Pogacar's main rival, Jonas Vingegaard, is not competing in the Vuelta after
crashing during this year's Tour de France.
This was Pocagar's 10th Grand Tour and the first he has ever abandoned. He had
never finished lower than third place.
The three-week race concludes in Granada on Sept. 13.
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