They never got to see the Angliru: Along with O’Connor and Ryan, Castrillo also forced to withdraw after hard crash (and fracture)
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Follow us on GoogleThe Angliru became a massive celebration on Friday in stage 13 of the Vuelta a España, but behind João Almeida's stage victory, there were ultimately four riders who never saw the final climb. We had already lost 22 (!) riders in the first twelve days of this Tour of Spain, but Friday's withdrawals included some big names..
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Following the earlier withdrawals of Koen Bouwman and Chris Harper, Jayco-AlUla also removed the name of team leader Ben O'Connor from the list. The 29-year-old Australian was on fire in the first week and was in an excellent position in the GC. However, on day 10, he crashed, which immediately had consequences in the days that followed.
After his withdrawal in stage 13, Jayco AlUla released a short statement mentioning a rib injury. “He sustained this injury in a crash in stage 10, and it did not improve. He will now go home for further tests,” said the Australian team. O'Connor was in the Vuelta to chase a classification.
The climber finished second in last year's Vuelta a España and won the stage on the Col de la Loze in July's Tour de France. However, he was unable to compete for the general classification in the Tour de France due to a crash on the first day. He only recovered during the second week, before striking in the fog on the Col de la Loze.
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Castrillo breaks collarbone, Ryan struggles with muscle injury
In addition to O'Connor, three other names were also crossed off the list on Friday. Archie Ryan decided not even to start. The 23-year-old Irishman from EF Education-EasyPost finished last on day 12 and, according to the team, was already struggling with a muscle injury in his right buttock. “He is returning home to prevent further injury,” was the verdict.
That wasn't the end of the top climbers in the Vuelta, because although we didn't see anything during the stage, Pablo Castrillo of Movistar did not make it to the finish. The 24-year-old Spaniard had fallen during the descent of La Mozqueta. “Medical tests have shown that he has broken his left collarbone,” said the team.
This was a setback for Castrillo, who won two stages of the Vuelta last season with Equipe Kern Pharma and was already close to victory on day 10 of this edition, finishing second in the breakaway. “In the second corner of the descent, I turned too sharply, causing my wheel to end up in the gutter. This caused the bike to veer to the left, and I crashed hard. Now it's time to recover.”
Finally, we did not see Fernando Barceló at the finish line at the top of the Angliru. The 29-year-old Spaniard from Caja Rural saw "ten days of suffering" come to an end. "Fernando had to leave the race due to a broken rib, which had been causing him pain for ten days."
Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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Latest Comments
- Eight riders told to go for stages, and nobody gets one—hard to know what the plan was there. It’ll be interesting to see whether they pick a clear leader next time.bikebuffj10-11-2026
- Was Bernal’s 20th place really their best GC result? I thought he might have finished higher. Either way, it sounds like a rough Tour for the whole team.gearguru3310-11-2026
- Five days in breaks with no stage win is a painful stat. The team had chances, but they need to turn those opportunities into results.julien10-11-2026
- The Onley Vuelta example makes sense: a team with someone to rally around often looks much more cohesive. Hopefully INEOS can build on that rather than expecting a quick return to the Sky years.cadencekingm10-11-2026
- Thomas is right about the ambiguity. Eight riders all chasing stages can end up pulling in different directions, even if nobody’s deliberately working against anyone. They need a clearer plan once the GC leaders are out.robert6510-11-2026
- What a mess. The report makes it sound as though nobody properly explained the decision, and that’s hard to defend.jennifer1910-11-2026
- I’m still learning the rules: does moving left in a sprint automatically bring a penalty, or does it depend on whether the other rider is blocked? It sounds like Brand wasn’t impeded here.patriciaw10-11-2026
- A final decision still needs a proper explanation. If the federation’s complaint goes nowhere, I hope the officials at least review how they handled the riders afterwards.michael5410-11-2026
- Fair play to Lucinda for saying Marie had won fair and square. That kind of sportsmanship matters, especially after such a controversial decision.raceready710-11-2026
- Schreiber beat Brand on the road, so the jury needed to explain clearly why that slight deviation warranted relegation. Being cut off before she could give her account sounds appalling.lindae10-11-2026
