Ineos Grenadiers is counting the cost a large pile-up on the opening stage at Vuelta a Burgos today as Egan Bernal and several other riders all came down and suffered injuries.
Luckily it appears none of the team's fallers suffered broken bones, though they are now out of contention overall as they crash occurred just inside the 20km to go marker.
Bernal, Adam Yates and Daniel Martinez have all suffered what appear to be soft tissue injuries. Bernal and Martinez lost 9:51 and 9:18 respectively and Yates lost 12:08.
That effectively ends their chances in the general classification battle on what will be a key tune-up race for the La Vuelta. It is an especially important event for Bernal and Martinez as they have only raced one day since finishing the Giro at the end of May.
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And while Bernal won that Giro, aided brilliantly by Martinez, he is still managing a lingering back injury, meaning any knocks so close to the start of La Vuelta could have serious consequences.
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"The trio were assessed at the roadside before continuing at their own pace to the finish, with Carlos Rodriguez also waiting at the scene for his teammates," the team said in a statement.
"Bernal, Yates and Martinez suffered contusions and abrasions in the crash and after a post-stage assessment, will be monitored by the Ineos Grenadiers medical team ahead of Wednesday’s stage."
The stage, some 161km to Burgos and with a finish atop the El Castillo climb, was won by Edward Planckaert (Alpecin-Fenix). There are no Irish riders in the race as Eddie Dunbar had to pull out of the event after a Covid-19 positive test result before he flew to Spain to join the team.
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