Tadej Pogacar crashes out of Vuelta a España - World Champion leaves the race bloodied with facial and shoulder injuries

Cycling
Saturday, 29 August 2026 at 17:18
Captura de ecrã 2026-08-29 160931
The 2026 Vuelta a España has been turned on its head. Tadej Pogacar has been forced to abandon the Spanish Grand Tour after a hard fall on stage 8 of the race, at a moment where it didn't appear as if there was danger in the peloton.
Stage 8 of the race was a day for the sprinters and the riders had a calm day up until 33 kilometers to go. The riders were heading towards Xeraco, and had just gone through the intermediate sprint at Simat de Valldigna where Wout Van Aert was the first across the line. The riders were approaching the Puerto de Barx, and so fighting for positioning was tense.
For the first time on the day, the peloton began bunching up, with the GC riders' teams towards the front. Despite this, the peloton was not in a technical section when, with 33 kilometers, there was a mass crash in the peloton. Several riders were involved; and Tadej Pogacar was the worst involved.

Tadej Pogacar injured 

The red jersey looked in pain right away, and did not get back on the bike. The peloton slowed down, and Pogacar was being treated on the ground. The red jersey attempted to get back on the bike but was not able to, and it was notable that he carried injuries in his shoulder but also his face, with a cut in his eyebrow that was leading to a lot of blood.
After around five minutes, Tadej Pogacar's withdrawal from the Vuelta a España was confirmed. The Slovenian was carried away into a race ambulance, with the fears of a collarbone fracture due to the wound he carried on his shoulder and the fact that he had a support placed to hold his arm.
This could see Enric Mas take the lead of the Vuelta a España at the end of the stage, ahead of the first queen stage of the race.
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