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Continues: Pogačar is out of the Vuelta a España 2026. Stage 8 ended in an ambulance, not…
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Tadej Pogačar's Brutal Crash Upends a Lot More Than Just the Vuelta a España
Jim Cotton
Pogačar was leading the Vuelta a España by 3:50 when he crashed out—the first Vuelta leader to abandon in 16 years, and the moment that kills his shot at joining the ninth-ever career Grand Tour Triple Crown. What collapses with it is the entire back half of a season he built to be historic.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG still has no recovery timeline: surgery on his fractured collarbone was delayed as a precaution around the concussion, and a stable C7 fracture doesn't come with a return date. That silence now hangs over three targets he'd architected the calendar around—defending the rainbow jersey in Montreal, the European title on home Slovenian roads, and a sixth straight Il Lombardia. His agent Alex Carera says no one, medical staff included, can call the season over, but optimism isn't a timeline. A rider who won 22 races in 45 days this year is now the one thing his sport can't currently plan around.

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