Vuelta a España: Primož Roglič crashes hard during finale of stage 16

Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) suffered a dramatic crash during the finale of stage 16 of the Vuelta a España, hitting the deck at high speed just meters from the finish line in Barrameda.

Roglič had attacked from the peloton with just over two kilometers to go and pulled out a gap along with a group containing Mads Pedersen (TrekSegafredo), Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious), Danny van Poppel (Bora Hansgrohe), and Pascal Ackermann (UAE Emirates).

The Slovenian was on-course to gain time on his closest rivals but as the group wound up for the sprint, it looks as though Roglič touched handlebars with Wright and he was catapulted from his bike and down to the ground.

He was able to get up off floor and ride across the line with the help of a teammate but he was battered and bloodied as a result of the fall.

“I think bizarre is a good word,” Jumbo-Visma DS Addy Engels said of the stage finish. “We had the plan to try to go for it for a stage result but also to take back time in the GC. I think the plan went really well, Primož got in front with a small group to the finish, but what happened we didn’t even know because we had television but the crash we missed. We thought he had finished in the group ahead of the first bunch.

“Suddenly we heard that he crashed in the last straight. The plan that we had, there was a very small chance that we succeeded on a final like this. We succeeded but then it went all wrong in the last few hundred meters. We have to see how bad the injuries are. Obviously, he’s injured. He’s on the bus now and trying to clean everything, but we have to see how he is. To me, it looks like more than eight seconds these injuries.”

Roglič had a lot of blood on his right leg and shoulder as he sat on the ground shortly beyond the finish line. It is not yet known how severe his injuries are.

It was a dramatic finale already after Roglič attacked on a short rise inside the final three kilometers. Shortly after he made his move, race leader Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) pulled out of the peloton after suffering a puncture.

Despite his crash, Roglič was able to gain time on the main bunch due to the three-kilometer rule, which allows for any rider that crashes or has a mechanical inside the final three kilometers to keep the time of the group they were in.

Evenepoel benefitted from the same rule and was given the same time as the main bunch, which crossed the line eight seconds behind the Roglič group.