Tadej Pogacar, the Slovenian cycling superstar and five-time Tour de France champion, has been forced to abandon the Vuelta a España after a heavy crash on the race's eighth stage left him with multiple serious injuries. The 27-year-old world champion came down hard approximately 33 kilometres from the finish in Xeraco, a coastal town in the Valencia region of eastern Spain, when his front wheel clipped a stone at the side of the peloton, sending him into another rider and then onto the tarmac. He was taken away by ambulance with blood on his face and visible injuries to his shoulder and arm.
Hospital examinations confirmed the full extent of the damage: a displaced fracture of the left collarbone, a stable fracture of the seventh cervical vertebra in the neck, a concussion, and multiple abrasions. UAE Team Emirates doctor Adrian Rotunno confirmed that Pogacar will require surgery on the collarbone, though the procedure has been postponed as a precautionary measure because of the concussion. "He is stable," Rotunno said, noting that no major neurological damage had been found. A displaced collarbone fracture means the broken bone ends have shifted out of alignment, typically requiring surgical fixation.
The crash ends what had been a dominant Vuelta campaign. Pogacar had won three of the first seven stages and held a lead of three minutes and fifty seconds over his nearest rival before the incident. The Vuelta a España is the only one of cycling's three Grand Tours — alongside the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia — that Pogacar had not yet won. He claimed the Giro in 2024 and took his fifth Tour de France title just weeks ago. Team sporting director Joxean Fernandez Matxin said his rider initially wanted to continue, but the pain made it impossible. "This can happen in cycling, it is nobody's fault," he said.
With Pogacar's withdrawal, Spanish rider Enric Mas of Movistar inherited the race lead. In a notable show of sportsmanship, Mas declined to put on the red leader's jersey at the podium ceremony, saying simply: "I did not win the red jersey today." Stage honours on the day went to French sprinter Bryan Coquard of Cofidis, who claimed his first ever Grand Tour stage victory after finishing in the top ten on forty previous occasions.
The injury is expected to end Pogacar's season prematurely. A collarbone fracture typically requires at least six weeks of recovery, putting his planned participation in the UCI Road World Championships — scheduled for late September in Montreal, Canada — almost certainly out of reach, along with the European Championships to be held in Slovenia, his home country, shortly afterwards. UAE team management acknowledged the season's remaining goals would have to give way to his recovery. "Now the person comes first," Matxin said.