Tadej Pogačar spent Saturday night in a hospital bed in Barcelona rather than in the red jersey. The world champion abandoned the Vuelta a España on stage 8 after a high-speed crash on the road to Xeraco, ending a run of ten Grand Tour starts he had never once failed to finish. In those ten appearances, he had never finished lower than third.

The crash happened with 31 kilometres remaining on the flat road from Puçol to Xeraco, shortly before the day’s only climb up the Puerto de Barx. Pogačar brushed shoulders with another rider, lost control of his handlebars and went down hard on his left side and his face.

He tried to remount a few minutes later. The moment he touched his bike he cried out in pain, and team-mates walked him to the team ambulance as the peloton rolled on toward the finish.

Surgery delayed until concussion clears

The full picture came in a UAE Team Emirates-XRG statement from team medical director Dr Adrian Rotunno.

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“Tadej has been diagnosed with a concussion, displaced left clavicle fracture, a stable C7 cervical fracture, and multiple abrasions,” Rotunno said.

The team also said there were “no other major injuries and no neurological fallout” beyond the fractures and cuts. Pogačar was then transferred to a hospital in Barcelona for further observation.

“He will require clavicle surgery, which will be delayed due to concussion precautions,” Rotunno added.

Mas refuses to wear a jersey he did not win

Spain’s Enric Mas moved into the overall lead on the road as the peloton climbed away from the crash scene. The Movistar rider is the first Spaniard to take La Roja since Jesús Herrada in 2018.

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He declined to put the red jersey on his shoulders after the stage.

“To be honest, I know this is sport and cycling, but Tadej crashed, I didn’t win the red jersey, so I think to not put it on now is something to show the respect to him,” Mas said.

Bryan Coquard, at 34, sprinted to his first Grand Tour stage win, beating Mads Pedersen and Jordi Meeus to the line in what the Frenchman’s team called the biggest win of his career.

No timeline has been set for the collarbone surgery, which depends on how quickly Pogačar’s concussion clears.

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