Tadej Pogacar abandons Vuelta a Espana after stage eight crash
Quick Look
- Tadej Pogacar abandoned the Vuelta a Espana after crashing during stage eight, sustaining injuries to his left shoulder and face.
- The 27-year-old Slovenian world champion and five-time Tour de France winner walked unaided into an ambulance, marking his first Grand Tour abandonment.
- He was leading the race by 3 minutes and 50 seconds over Enric Mas at the time of the crash.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Tadej Pogacar is a Slovenian professional cyclist, five-time Tour de France winner, Giro d'Italia champion, and two-time road world champion. He was attempting to become the ninth rider to win all three Grand Tours (Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a Espana).
Race leader Tadej Pogacar has abandoned the Vuelta a Espana after crashing during stage eight.
The world champion, who was looking to complete a full set of Grand Tour victories, crashed with about 33km to go.
Pogacar, 27, was riding in the midst of the peloton when he came off his bike, hurting his left shoulder and cutting the left side of his face.
The Slovenian appeared to try and get back on his bike before sitting back down again.
He then walked unaided into an ambulance to mark the first time he has abandoned a Grand Tour.
The overwhelming favourite to win the three-week long race had started the stage three minutes and 50 seconds clear of Spaniard Enric Mas in second place.
Six-time Grand Tour winner Pogacar was on course to win all three of the sport's biggest stage races, having already won five Tours de France and a Giro d'Italia.
Having become the joint most successful Tour de France champion of all time last month, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider is aiming to become the ninth rider to win all three Grand Tours.
Pogacar has also won almost all of the sport's biggest races. In addition to his multiple stage race victories, the two-time road world champion has won 13 one-day monument races, including the Tour of Flanders (three times), Milan-San Remo (once), Il Lombardia (five times) and Liege-Bastogne-Liege (four times).
In 2025, he recorded his best finish of second in the other monument - Paris-Roubaix.
Open Questions
- What is the exact nature and severity of Pogacar's injuries?
- How long will Pogacar be out of competition?
- Will Pogacar attempt the Vuelta a Espana again in future years?
