Tadej Pogacar pulls out of Vuelta a Espana after crash

Tadej Pogacar, the race leader in the Vuelta a Espana, abruptly withdrew from the cycling event on Friday after a crash during stage eight. The 27-year-old Slovenian rider suffered a shoulder injury and cuts to his face. Despite initially attempting to remount his bike, Pogacar eventually sat back down and was eventually carried into an ambulance.

This marks the first time the six-time Grand Tour winner has abandoned a three-week stage race. Pogacar, who raced with UAE Team Emirates-XRG, had built a commanding lead of 3 minutes and 50 seconds over Spain's Enric Mas, setting him up as the favorite to claim his first Vuelta title. A victory would have completed his collection of Grand Tour wins, following five Tour de France titles and the Giro d’Italia.

The crash occurred with about 33 kilometers remaining in the stage. Pogacar, who recently claimed the joint-most-successful Tour de France champion title, aimed to become the ninth rider to win all three Grand Tours. His impressive record also includes 13 victories in cycling's one-day Monuments, with Paris-Roubaix being the only notable exception.