The Russian climber started off his season in search of good form but ends up abandoning after a crash on stage 3 left him with "a concussion and several cuts".
It was not a great start of the season for the rider from Gazprom - Rusvelo. Ilnur Zakarin, who is riding his final season as a professional rider, hit the deck hard during the third stage of the Spanish stage-race and couldn't complete the stage. A dark day in the peloton where six riders abandoned, mostly due to crashes, and nine didn't step foot on the startline, with the majority being the Team BikeExchange squad which pulled out of the race after a set of positive Covid tests.
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Gazprom brought a strong lineup for what was their first race of the season, which included the likes of Tour of Turkey champion Jose Manuel Díaz, Nicola Conci and Christian Scaroni. Their best placed rider is the Spanish climber who sits 24th in the general classification. As the Russian team sets off for the final two flat stages, they will be looking to launch Marco Canola into some good results in the sprints, and possibly eye the breakaways.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- He lives in Monaco
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - It's also highly significant for Lorenzo Finn as he won there last year. Also Mateo Ramírez and Henrique Bravo if they goRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
- This is a phenomenal course design. I do wish that they'd stretch these tours for the women to at least 2 weeks.RidesHills03-11-2026
- This is an amazing route, honestly. Let's hope that it attracts riders to make it a compelling and competitive race. Side bar amusement: going to Slovenia and passing pretty close to Pogačar's house. I wonder if they were tempting him to get all 3 jerseys at once after winning the Tour and Vuelta. After all, only a very few have ever had all three at the same time (Froome being the last).RidesHills03-11-2026
- He was a child two years agoRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
- A great route aswell. Col d'Arpy is a toughieRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
- Let Torito have a shot at itRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
- A great route, much more exciting than the Tour de France. Monte Livata is an interesting one, because they experimented with it at the 2026 Baby Giro, and it was fantastic. 4 km at 10%, then 10 km at 6.5% made for a great spectacle. The stage 16 is horrible. Montaner is also used in the U23s, in Giro del BelvedereRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
- I remember when Mark went through that. He was really experiencing lows and thought about quiting many times. It took him a long time to recover. I, like many others were overjoyed when he came back. I hope Lafay has been tested. I wish him the best.Paggss03-11-2026
- That sucks for him. I've always wondered what guys like him do after retiring from cycling - go back to uni? He's still a very young manCrashjames03-11-2026
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At the third stage of @VueltaCV Ilnur Zakarin crashed and was not able to continue the race. Ilnur has a concussion and several cuts which were stitched. We wish Ilnur a speedy recovery! #RockTheRoyalBlueJersey #GazpromRusVelo #VCV2022
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