Heavy fall causes fractures: Vuelta leader Pogacar has to give up

Pogacar was driving in the field when he swerved to the right and collided with Frenchman Christophe Laporte. The Slovenian fell violently and was initially treated on the street. TV pictures showed bleeding abrasions on the shoulder and face.

Fractures: Pogacar’s serious fall probably means the end of the season

When the 27-year-old stood up again, he was holding his left arm in pain. A little later he went to the ambulance on his own and was taken to the hospital.

The world champion suffered a postponed one Fracture of the left clavicle and a stable one Fracture of the seventh cervical vertebra. It’s probably the end of the Slovenian’s season.

Pogacar initially wanted to continue driving, like UAE sports director Rebel Fernandez said: “He wanted to continue, but his shoulder hurt incredibly. He was bleeding from his eyebrow. He had to be stitched,” said the Spaniard and, referring to the crash, added: “Nobody is responsible for that. These are things that happen in cycling. We don’t know exactly what happened.”

For Pogacar, the hunt for his first overall victory at the Vuelta ends abruptly. The five-time Tour de France winner entered the eighth stage with a lead of 3:50 minutes and confidently led the race.

Vuelta: New opportunity for Felix Gall

This creates new opportunities for Felix Gall. After Pogacar’s retirement, the Austrian is now in third place and is 1:11 minutes behind the new leader Enric Mas from Spain.