Medical updates Vuelta: Martin (FDJ) breaks two vertebrae, Arcas (Movistar) sent home with a fractured thigh bone

The biggest pile-up happened within the final 30 kilometers. A Q36.5 rider went down, leaving the riders behind with no chance to avoid the crash. Around twenty riders hit the tarmac, Vingegaard and Pidcock were the biggest names involved, but Axel Zingle (Visma | Lease a Bike) seemed to be in the worst condition. His shoulder was dislocated, but medical staff managed to put it back in on the spot. Despite the quick fix, he was sent home on Monday. Other riders were hurt too but managed to get back on their bikes fairly quickly.

Tim van Dijke, for example, fell on his hip and was in considerable pain. His hip may have dislocated, but according to Vuelta organizers, it was addressed on-site.

Even before the big crash, others were already unlucky. Guillaume Martin hit the ground with about 40 kilometers to go. He had to abandon the race immediately, but the extent of his injuries was initially unclear. Later, it was revealed he had suffered a head injury. After the stage, Groupama-FDJ confirmed that the damage was much worse: the French climber has fractured two vertebrae, a major blow for the team, which had designated him as a protected rider.

Additionally, race organizers reported that a rider had suffered a fractured hip, but there was confusion for a while over whether it was George Bennett (Israel – Premier Tech) or Jorge Arcas (Movistar). The New Zealander crashed around 35 kilometers from the finish, while the Spaniard was caught up in the large pile-up later in the day. Both fell heavily on their hips, but the organization seemed unclear about which injury belonged to which rider.

Later, Movistar confirmed that it was Arcas who had suffered the hip fracture. He initially wanted to continue, but on Monday morning was sent home. “After diagnostic testing, Arcas was found to have a fracture in the upper part of the greater trochanter of the left femur,” Movistar said in a statement. “He is therefore forced to withdraw from the Vuelta.”