Pogacar crashes out of Vuelta a Espana as Mas takes over race lead
Tadej Pogacar was forced to abandon the Vuelta a Espana after a crash in Saturday's eighth stage. Enric Mas now leads the general classification.
Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogacar has withdrawn from the Vuelta a Espana after crashing in the eighth stage on Saturday. The accident happened about 33 kilometers from the finish, and Pogacar, riding for UAE Team Emirates - XRG, sustained injuries that forced him to leave the race. Three other riders also failed to finish.
Saturday's route covered 171 kilometers and included one third-category climb, one cobblestone section and one intermediate sprint. In the bunch finish, Frenchman Bryan Coquard of Cofidis took the stage victory in 3 hours 47 minutes 6 seconds. Denmark's Mads Pedersen (Lidl - Trek) finished second with the same time, while Belgium's Jordi Meeus (Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe) placed third.
Pogacar has won the Tour de France overall five times this season, but he had never won the Spanish Grand Tour. The crash on Saturday ended his hopes of doing so this year.
Meanwhile, Enric Mas of Movistar, who had been chasing Pogacar, has moved into the overall lead. He leads Slovenia's Primoz Roglic (Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe) by one minute and Austria's Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) by 1 minute 11 seconds.
