Sagan becomes latest Vuelta withdrawal
After his controversial crash with a motorbike on stage eight, Peter Sagan has been forced to end his Vuelta a Espana campaign early.
Peter Sagan has become the latest rider to withdraw from the Vuelta a Espana due to injuries sustained on Saturday's eighth stage.
A crash with what Tinkoff-Saxo described as a "reckless" auxiliary motorbike towards the end of the 182.5km ride from Puebla de Don Fadrique to Murcia saw Sagan suffer wounds in addition to first and second-degree burns from his hip to his lower left leg.
Furthermore, the Slovak, who had been serving as co-team leader with Rafal Majka, also sustained a contusion to his left forearm as well as an intra-muscular hematoma.
A statement from Tinkoff-Saxo read: "The team doctor, together with the sport directors at the Vuelta, decided that Sagan cannot safely continue the race with the injuries he suffered. As a result, he will fly back home as soon as possible."
The team had announced they were considering legal action following the incident, which was overshadowed by an earlier crash 48km from the finish that forced Dan Martin (Cannondale-Garmin), Tejay van Garderen (BMC), Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) and Kris Boeckmans (Lotto-Soudal) to abandon.
Stage nine takes place on Sunday with a 168.3km route from Torrevieja to Cumbre del Sol.