The crash was filed from above by Associated Press; the camera angle showing the narrowest of gap the riders were left with due to the photographers on the narrow road. But it was the race official stepping into their path that did the real damage.
Dylan van Baarle Team Sky out of Vuelta
Dylan van Baarle has been forced out of the Vuelta due to the injury he sustained two days ago when riders collided with a race official.
The Team Sky rider was 2nd to Alexandre Geniez (AG2R La Mondiale) on stage 12. But both crashed into a member of the race organisation immediately after the finish line.
The AP news agency filmed the crash from above, which you can see here. The aerial footage highlights how poorly organised the finishing area was.
While the riders affected all continued in the race, Van Baarle has now been forced out. He was a non-starter today.
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He struggled yesterday; finishing second from last more than 30 minutes down after struggling with bad bruising.
Furthermore, his condition got worse through the stage and overnight and so Team Sky announced today he was out.
That looked painful ????
This man is going to have a sore head in the morning ?#LaVuelta2018 pic.twitter.com/jg12jbNeWO
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) September 6, 2018
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Van Baarle, who very narrowly missed winning the stage from the breakaway, said he was very disappointed.
"I was hoping that with treatment it would feel better overnight but the pain has stayed the same," he said.
"It is a struggle to walk and there’s no point going through another stage in this condition.
"It’s disappointing but I’m trying not to think about it too much. I’m just focused on getting better again, recovering and taking care of myself.
“Luckily I’m in good hands on this team. And they can help me get better soon. For now, I think a day off the bike will help,” he said, sending his best wishes to the team.
Dr Neil Heron of Team Sky outlined what they believed van Baarle’s worst injury was.
“Dylan feels very stiff and uncomfortable this morning following his crash on stage 12 and is too uncomfortable to start the stage today," he said.
"He has been sent for some further imaging which will give us more information. We think he has a haematoma within the muscle after the crash.
“It is) a bad bruise after he got hit in his groin with the handlebars.
“Because that was uncomfortable on yesterday’s stage he was compensating with his buttock, which is why he’s getting a lot of muscle spasms in that area."
One of the race’s staff stepped into the finishing area two days ago as the breakaway approach.
Realising the riders were sprinting in, the official turned his back on them and ran up the road after the line.
However, just as it looked like he had cleared a pinch point on the road, created by photographers, he then slowed down.
The official then turned around to see where the riders where, stepping into their path in the process and causing a nasty crash.
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