🎥 Race leader Rüegg abandons the Vuelta Femenina after nasty crash

The Vuelta Femenina had started so well for Noemi Rüegg. The Swiss rider beat some of the world's best in a tough uphill finish, taking not just the stage win but the red jersey too. The dream, however, quickly became a nightmare. In the closing stages of stage two, she crashed hard and was forced to abandon.

Everything had seemed fine for the race leader — until about 13 kilometres from the finish, when it all went wrong. She hit the wheel of the rider in front and went over the handlebars, landing awkwardly in the roadside verge alongside Eleonora Ciabocco, the youth classification leader from Picnic PostNL. The Italian was reportedly able to continue; Rüegg was not.

Medical staff arrived quickly and tended to her. It was clear from the outset that she was in serious trouble. After around five minutes, word came through: she had abandoned. The full extent of her injuries has not yet been confirmed.

It is the second high-profile withdrawal in as many days. Marianne Vos was the first: the Dutch rider crashed in the finale of stage one, but impressively fought her way back to finish seventh. That effort, it turned out, was made with a broken collarbone. She did not start stage two.