Jonas Van Genechten of Belgium sprinted to win seventh stage of the Vuelta a Espana on Friday after Alberto Contador crashed near the finish line.
Contador’s front wheel caught on another bike in a tight pack making a turn, sending him and other riders into the temporary barrier marking the course’s final kilometer. Contador was quickly back on his bike, but had several visible scratches and tears to his jersey as he slowly pedaled across the line.
The seven-time Grand Tour winner, including three Vuelta titles, said his Tinkoff-Saxo team would assess his health.
Photo: AFP
“I was hit by someone that likes braking a lot and crashed on my left side,” Contador said. “I took a big hit on my calf and my quad, and in general I have extensive superficial wounds on the entire left side of my body. It hurts a lot, but it seems that there is nothing broken.”
Colombian Darwin Atapuma held onto the overall lead of the Grand Tour, although Alejandro Valverde did chip into his advantage after picking up four bonus seconds for finishing third.
Van Genechten, 29, beat a group of sprinters to claim the 158.5km stage over three category-three climbs from Maceda to Puebla de Sanabria in 3 hours, 55 minutes, 44 seconds.
Van Genechten, who rides for IAM Cycling, called his first Grand Tour win the biggest victory of his career.
“At the Vuelta the chance for a win is very small, so we have to fight for every single chance,” he said. “This was one of my goals.”
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