Tadej Pogacar abandons the Vuelta a España. The Slovenian cyclist, overall leader of the general classification, suffered a severe crash this Saturday during the eighth stage with 32 kilometers to the finish. Shortly before starting to climb the Barx pass, on a straight with no apparent difficulty, the peloton occupied practically the entire roadway. Pogacar, positioned on the left side, made a somewhat strange move to the right and collided with another cyclist. The impact left his collarbone dislocated and his left arm more than bruised; the Slovenian was ostentatiously complaining about his shoulder. The doctors immediately attended to him on the roadside and Pogacar managed to stand up, but when trying to get back on his bike he decided to abandon due to the severe pain. The peloton, which had slowed down after the accident, regained pace upon reaching the mountain pass.
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❌Tadej Pogacar crash 32 kilometers from the finish in stage 8 of the #VueltaRTVE29a
🔴LIVE on Teledeporte and @rtveplay https://t.co/zr72vqETBh pic.twitter.com/EqgjrFpsYL
— Teledeporte (@teledeporte) August 29, 2026
The rider thus leaves the Vuelta orphaned. A clear leader (he was almost four minutes ahead of Mas, then second in the standings), he was the only contender for the final victory.
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The peloton, aware of the situation, initially hit the brakes, a sign of respect for the best and the maillot rojo. But soon returned to the usual pace, as Pogacar, when trying to grab the bike, realized his left arm was not responding. He got into the ambulance and that was the end of the Vuelta.
It is not common to see Pogacar on the ground: barely remembered is the Liège-Bastogne-Liège, when he suffered a multiple fracture in his left wrist, and little else. Now, he abandons the Vuelta, the only Grand Tour missing from his palmarès, when the only thing that could have kept him from success was precisely a crash or injury.
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