The Vuelta a Espana had teams start with less than eight riders on the opening day, but the first rider to crash out of the race was Lotto Soudal's Steff Cras who went down late on stage two and has had to call it a race.
Sad to leave the La Vuelta so early. Trough some circumstances out of my control I went down, with hard result," Cras said on his social media. The Belgian crashed with 18 kilometers to go alongside a few other riders, however was the one in most distress, and it soon became apparent he would not take to the bike as medical staff tried to diagnose his injuries. "Broken elbow, scafoid & finger," the Lotto Soudal rider revealed.
"It was my biggest goal of this season. I need some time to heal fiscally and mentally but I wish all the best to my LottoSoudal mates," he concluded. Although Lotto Soudal came to the race with no leader, Cras had personal ambitions of riding strongly in the mountains, likely with a minor GC goal as he has been bringing in Top15 results throughout the year on overall classifications.
Lotto Soudal now remain in the race with seven riders, into the third day which is set to see another bunch sprint, this time in the Dutch city of Breda.
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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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Medical update: following his crash in La Vuelta, @SteffCras was taken to the hospital for examination. He has broken his right elbow and scaphoid and left little finger. The team is sad to see him leave the race and wishes him a speedy recovery.
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