Video shows the shocking safety lapse that caused big favourite Steven Kruijswijk to crash hard and out of the Vuelta.
Having led the Giro d’Italia in May until a crash very late in the race robbed him of his opportunity, Dutch rider Steven Kruijswijk entered the Vuelta with real hopes of big results.
However, after a crash in the closing stages today the LottoNL-Jumbo rider is out of the race with a broken collarbone.
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And now video and photos have emerged of a bollard or pole sticking out of the tarmac well inside the final 2km of today’s stage that caused the incident.
Vuelta organisers Unipublic have apologised for the circumstances that caused the crash.
But the videos above and below show there were a large number of hazards facing the riders on the run-in today on narrow twisty streets.
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Ik zie @s_kruijswijk naar links gaan en ineens n enorme klap. Dit is de paal. Onzichtbaar voor n aanstormend peloton pic.twitter.com/NMth2Nve0u
— Bram Tankink (@bramtankink) August 24, 2016
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Kruijswijk was understandably annoyed at what happened. “My ribs and collarbone hurt a lot; I crashed heavily into that pole,” he said.
“It’s terrible that I have to leave this race because of an object that shouldn’t have been there. I’m going home immediately tomorrow. My season is over.
“This was, after the Giro d’Italia, my second big target and I’m really fed up about the way I’m leaving the Vuelta.”
The crash was filmed by a spectator and can be seen by following this link.
Unipublic expressed its regret at what had happened, saying it was investigating the matter.
“In response to the accident involving riders Steven Kruijswijk (Team Lotto-NL Jumbo) and Jan Bakelants (AG2R La Mondiale) during the fifth stage held today, the organisation of the 2016 Vuelta a España wishes to express its deepest regret for what happened,” the statement said.
It added it had been in contact with the teams of both riders “in order to convey sincerest apologies”.
The organisers also confirmed they had opened an internal investigation into the incident and had been in contact with the International Cycling Team Association and with the president of the (UCI) commissioners’ college.
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