"Thrown to the ground when going 50 km/h" - Javier Romo abandons La Vuelta after protestor-caused crash

The third week of the Vuelta a Espana has begun, but after a few kilometers it has lost yet another rider. This was Javier Romo, victim of a crash on stage 15 due to a protestor that attempted to run into the breakaway. The Spaniard is deeply upset to end the race in such an unusual way.

Romo was able to finish Sunday's stage, although with notable injuries and bruises to the leg after coming down in a moment where an anti-Israel protestor ran out of the woods, tumbling near the breakaway group in a ditch. A policeman ran across the road, and in the chaos of the situation, a touch of wheels took the Spaniard out.

"Yesterday I could not enjoy the rest day. In the end we are 6 days waiting for that moment to come, and I couldn't even go out with my teammates for that ride. I'm pretty screwed," Romo said this morning at the start of the stage in words to AS.

Romo was clearly upset with what had happened, despite the fact that almost 48 hours had already passed since the incident. "I'm ultimately doing my job. I think we are all contributing to the sporting spectacle, or at least that's what should be shown. We are racers who train every day, who lead a Spartan life and who are an example for the young people. They are getting something else to be shown and not what we are doing".

It had also been speculated that Romo might have gone after the protestor himself after the fall, as TV broacast showed him running. But that was not the case, instead he went out to reach for a bike from his team car. "I don't know where that came from. Show me the video whenever you want".

"My first reaction is the common reaction of any person who is thrown to the ground when going 50 km/h. I think it could have caused a much bigger tragedy. Luckily I only have bruises, although they are not small. My reaction was anger, but as you could all see I took the second bike and returned to the peloton to continue doing the work I was doing," he concluded.

However the 26-year clearly felt the effects of the crash heavily this Tuesday, and abandoned the race in the early kilometers of stage 16 despite the lack of any meaningful climb. Romo had finished stage 12 in second place behind Juan Ayuso, but his withdrawal leaves Movistar even more depleted as they seek their first stage win of the race.