Marc Soler abandons Paris-Nice following leg injury

UAE began stage 4 of Paris-Nice with the first four riders in the overall classification. However, they were not able to maintain the race lead and in the final climb, their leaders also lost some seconds to their main rivals. Adding insult to the injury, the team has now also lost Marc Soler.

The Spanish rider was expected to be yet another weapon for the Emirati team this week, but his chances of fighting for a strong result were cut short as during stage 2 he hit his leg on the handlebars and suffered bruising. Seemingly a minor injury at first but it has led to constant pain. He raced the team time-trial and yesterday's important stage to Mont Brouilly, but will not start this morning.

"Marc suffered a quadriceps contusion after hitting the handle bars prior to stage 2 of Paris-Nice," team doctor Adrian Rottuno said in a message shared on social media. "He tried his best to continue in the following stages, but unfortunately due to worsening symptoms he was unable to continue, and abandoned the race today. He will head home for further investigations and focussed rehabilitation.