Jay Vine (Alpecin-Deceuninck) has abandoned the Vuelta a España after crashing in the opening kilometres of stage 18 to the Alto de Piornal. He was leading the king of the mountains classification after his stage victories at Pico Jano and Colláu Fancuaya in the first week.
The Australian was one of a number of riders to come down in a crash shortly after the start of the stage, and his abandon was confirmed shortly afterwards on race radio. Vine was among the favourites for victory on Thursday’s category 1 finale on the Alto de Piornal.
Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos) also came down in the same crash, sustaining cuts to his left side and back, but he remains in the race after receiving treatment from the medical car. The Spanish champion lies fourth overall, 5:20 off Remco Evenepoel’s maillot rojo and 29 seconds off third-placed Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates).
More to follow…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…