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Tom Pidcock has been withdrawn from the Volta a Catalunya because of injuries sustained in a crash during the fifth stage on Friday. The British rider went off the road after misjudging a corner, suffering what he described as a “horror” crash down a ravine.
Although the Pinarello-Q36.5 rider was able to get back on his bike and complete the stage, after medical assessments with his team and also at hospital, it was determined Pidcock could not resume the race.
“Due to his crash he suffered injuries, most likely bone and ligament damage in particular to his right knee and also right wrist,” Pinarello-Q36.5’s chief medical team doctor, Lorenz Emmert, said. “Unfortunately we had to make the decision to take him out of the race. Further clinical evaluation and imaging will follow in the next days additionally to the already-initiated healing process.”
Pidcock, a two-time Olympic cross-country mountain bike champion, is now set to remain under close observation in the coming days as further evaluations take place.
“I was drinking on the descent and misjudged a corner,” Pidcock said in team statement. “I overshot it and went down the ravine. It was like one of these horror crashes you see, but I’m very lucky that I am OK. I’ll go for a check but I think I’m OK. I am lucky I could talk on the radio. I was far from the road and nobody knew I was there. I’m happy I could finish the stage.”
Pidcock added: “We did everything to try to make it to the start [of Saturday’s stage six], but it’s not possible. I fought to finish the stage yesterday to make sure I had the option to continue. Now the focus is on recovery, and I’ll be back.”
Jonas Vingegaard blazed to stage six victory at the Volta on Saturday and tightened his grip on the overall lead. The race favourite accelerated away from the lead group with just over two kilometres to ride to clinch back-to-back stage triumphs in the Pyrenees mountains.
The Danish Visma-Lease a Bike rider, who dominated at Paris-Nice earlier in March, finished 10 seconds ahead of Lenny Martinez and Florian Lipowitz, who finished second and third respectively. Vingegaard holds a provisional 1min 22sec lead overall on Martinez, while Lipowitz is third and a further eight seconds behind the two-time Tour de France winner.
The 158km final mountain stage in the lower Pyrenees, starting in Berga and ending at the Sanctuary of Queralt, looked ripe for another Vingegaard triumph and so it proved. Remco Evenepoel, who had fallen out of overall contention during a disappointing fifth stage, rode powerfully to help Red Bull team-mate Lipowitz.
However, Vingegaard’s broke clear of the German and Frenchman Martinez of Bahrain Victorious with just over two kilometres remaining, and they could not reel him in after that. Vingegaard is now well-placed to win the Volta in his first participation, adding it to a growing resume of high-profile stage races he has won. The Dane has won the Vuelta a Espana, Tirreno-Adriatico, Criterium du Dauphine and the Tour of the Basque Country.
The seventh and final stage on Sunday takes in seven circuits of the short Montjuic climb in Barcelona, where the Tour de France starts in July.
