“At first he wanted to continue, but we saw he was in a lot of pain" - Matxin on Tadej Pogacar’s withdrawal from the 2026 Vuelta a España
CyclingSaturday, 29 August 2026 at 19:19
Stage 8 of La Vuelta a España 2026 delivered a shock for UAE Team Emirates-XRG with the withdrawal of Tadej Pogačar. The race leader crashed with 33 kilometres to go and, despite initially trying to continue, pain forced him to step off the bike.
Joxean Fernández Matxin, manager of the Emirati squad, stayed with the Slovenian in the aftermath and explained the main issue was in his shoulder. Pogačar also had a cut on his eyebrow, though the team chief preferred to wait for a medical assessment before drawing conclusions.
The rider first tried to remount and carry on, but his limited arm movement made it clear the situation was more serious than it looked. “At first he wanted to continue, but we saw he was in a lot of pain, seemingly in the shoulder, and we decided he couldn’t go on,” said Matxin.
The Basque director admitted there is still no definitive explanation for how the crash happened. Pogačar was drinking when he went down, but Matxin avoided naming a specific cause as he did not witness the incident firsthand. “I don’t want to give details of a crash when I wasn’t actually there and don’t know for certain,” he noted.
“He tried to get up and was holding one arm”
Matxin also described Pogačar’s condition immediately after the crash. The Slovenian had a cut on his eyebrow that bled heavily, although it did not appear to be severe. “He had a few gashes on the eyebrow, there was blood, the eyebrow had opened. The wound wasn’t big, but it bled quite a lot,” he explained.
The rider would likely need a few stitches, but the main concern was the shoulder. According to Matxin, Pogačar repeatedly said the pain was there. “Right away he said ‘shoulder pain, shoulder pain.’ He tried to get up and that’s when he realised,” the UAE official recounted.
The situation became even clearer when the Slovenian tried to stand. “At first he wanted to continue, but then, when he tried, he was even grabbing one arm to try to lift his own arm,” Matxin said. Faced with that, the team had to make a call.
“These are moments when you have to make decisions,” said the UAE manager, aware that keeping the rider in the race could pose an unnecessary risk. The priority immediately shifted to understanding the real extent of the injuries and awaiting the official medical report before assessing the leader’s short-term future.
Tadej Pogacar following his crash on stage 8 of La Vuelta
“I hope the team takes many wins dedicated to Tadej as well”
Pogačar’s withdrawal is a heavy blow for a team that had built its Vuelta around the race leader. Matxin acknowledged it is a setback that is hard to absorb, especially given the Slovenian’s commanding position.
“These are situations cycling gives you, for better and for worse,” he summed up. The Emirati team boss, however, wanted to send a message of unity and motivation to the rest of the squad, who must now tackle the race with different goals.
“Now we have to be with the boys, be with Tadej and, above all, overcome this and help him recover as fast as possible,” said Matxin. The team will have to reset its priorities after losing the rider who dominated the opening days.
Uncertainty over the extent of the injuries still prevents any timeline. Matxin stressed that the medical evaluation must come first. “We’ll see what the doctors’ diagnosis is and draw conclusions after the doctor’s report,” he explained.
Despite the tough moment, the UAE manager kept an optimistic tone and did not rule out Pogačar returning to race before season’s end. “I hope it’s nothing serious, that he can recover for… why not think about a Worlds?” Matxin suggested. For now, everything depends on the medical diagnosis, while the team faces a very different Vuelta after the unexpected exit of its leader.
Javier RampeCycling Journalist
Javier Rampe is a sports analyst with more than 15 years of experience. He holds a degree in Economics from the University of Rome and a Diploma in Business Studies from the University of Cádiz. Despite coming from an academic background not particularly associated with cycling, his passion for both cycling and journalism was instilled in him from an early age. He grew up following Miguel Indurain and José María “El Chava” Jiménez. An admirer of Michael Robinson’s communication style and journalistic approach, he was inspired to pursue a degree in Journalism at the University of Buenos Aires, which he is currently completing.
He has always maintained close ties with the worlds of sport and culture, contributing from a young age to sports blogs and film and music review websites. His work has appeared in media outlets such as Cope, RAI, and Radio Con Vos. He is also the founder of the cycling-focused podcast El Contraanálisis and the football interview channel Días De Fútbol, dedicated to conversations with professional footballers.
In addition to his work at Ciclismoaldia, Javier has interviewed some of the most influential figures in modern cycling, including Alejandro Valverde and Tadej Pogačar, as well as key voices in anti-doping policy such as Alberto Yelmo, David Varillas, and Marcelo Milano. Marcos Maynar, in relation to the ‘Operación Ílex’ case, is also among the personalities he has interviewed. He enjoys conducting in-depth analysis of the cycling ecosystem and has attended major events such as Strade Bianche, the Vuelta a Andalucía, and Itzulia, as well as numerous national cyclo-cross races.
His background in economics, combined with extensive experience in marketing and corporate communications, drives his continuous study of positioning strategies and ensures that he always keeps his focus on crafting compelling and evocative headlines.
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- I hope he has a complete recovery. Speedy would be welcomed but secondary and not important. He needs to take his time because the crash was brutal and mean. God bless that he was not paralyzed with a fractured C7, that if dislocated could have crushed his spine, and God bless that he has no brain damage after his face hit the asphalt which sometimes causes basal skull fracture. He obviously had concussion and appeared disoriented. Most likely he will be back as the world best cyclist in the next season. Everybody just have to be happy, that he will not suffer any permanent deficits.Jakob29-08-2026
- I wish Pogi a full recovery and more importantly he can return to form. A C7 fracture takes a bit to recover from. With the C7 I’m pretty certain his season is over.TideRide3229-08-2026
- Big ask to get everyone to not signal the rock in the off chance that an opponent hits it.
Andrew29-08-2026 - That is not good to hear, hope he gets well soon.Andrew29-08-2026
- Dude, Paul Seixas is not in La Vuelta. Stop posting AI written articles. Really?!guster29-08-2026
- I hope Tadej has a speedy recoverymhfrvz29-08-2026
- Yep, even pros sometimes revert back to the amateur behaviour they learnt in the past. By the way, it would have been more informative to say which position Kuss moved up to because practically everyone move up one place., not a very useful description.Mistermaumau29-08-2026
- I guess Mas won’t be 2nd 4 times after all, as I suggested.Mistermaumau29-08-2026
- Reminds me of when Contador crashed as he was taking a swig just when something in the road threw him off balance. I know signalling seems to be becoming less and less important but if it’s down to a rock that big you have to ask if everyone up front decided to ignore it or the info just wasn’t passed on all the way back. Anyone see anything along those lines?Mistermaumau29-08-2026
- Absolutely gutted to see Pogi go out like this. From the helicopter it was hard to understand what happened. Commentators were saying maybe he was hit from behind. Now I’ve seen on IG:Luca yclingblog (front view) that it was a rock that brought him down. Head trauma and possible broken collarbone. He’s not coming back this year. So sad.Pedalmasher29-08-2026
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