Hugh Carthy abandons Vuelta a España 2021
The British GC hopeful suffered a rough day on stage six, before leaving the race part way through day seven


Hugh Carthy has abandoned the Vuelta a España 2021.
The British general classification contender came into this year's edition of the Spanish Grand Tour with the hope of improving on his podium position from last year.
After minimising his losses in the opening time trial in Burgos, the 27-year-old began to slip back on GC on the first mountain finish of the race, Picón Blanco on stage three.
Then on the punchy uphill finish on stage six, Carthy was caught out in crosswinds and was forced to dig deep to re-join the peloton late in the stage, before he struggled on the 1.9km-long final climb, losing almost three minutes to the GC contenders. Meanwhile his team-mate Magnus Cort rode to stage victory from the breakaway.
>>> Vuelta a España 2021 route: Nine summit finishes and no Madrid finale in this year's edition
The EF Education-Nippo rider the abandoned the race part way through stage seven, the first real mountain test of the 2021 Vuelta.
His team have not yet released details of why their GC leader abandoned.
Speaking at the start of the stage, Carthy said: "Yesterday was a good day for the team with Magnus' win, and a disappointment for me.
"Life goes on and we still have a couple of weeks to go. We're still here.
"I think I paid for the chase, but before that I wasn't really in a great place. I wasn't really in the race.
"We take each day at a time. There's still plenty of opportunities. It's important to go forward with a positive mind, not panic and rush, it would only make things worse."
Carthy began to struggle early on stage seven from Gandía to Balcón de Alicante, which featured six categorised climbs, including a tough first category uphill finish.
The Preston-born rider was dropped from the peloton 140km from the finish on slopes of the Puerto la Llacuna, the first categorised climb of the day, before he stepped off the bike as the leading group still had 64km left to race.
More to follow
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Alex is the digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter and now as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output.
Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) and joining CW in 2018, Alex has covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers.
Away from journalism, Alex is a national level time triallist, avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
-
-
Dr Hutch: Back pain is your body's way of telling you to cycle more
Cycling Weekly's columnist explains why he decided on curing his back pain by getting on his bike even more
By Michael Hutchinson • Published
-
How to stay fit as you age: Cycling into your 40s, 50s and beyond
A decline in your performance ceiling is natural as you age, but it doesn't mean you have to slow down - here's how you can adapt your training and approach to keep on getting faster
By Michelle Arthurs-Brennan • Published
-
Stefan Bissegger powers to time trial victory and overall lead on stage three of UAE Tour
Swiss rouleur beats world time trial champion Filippo Ganna by seven seconds
By Adam Becket • Published
-
5.30am alarms, hot and dirty metalworking, 'uncle' Jan Ullrich and lofty expectations: meet EF Education-EasyPost's Georg Steinhauser and his fascinating backstory
One of the peloton's busiest riders is also the WorldTour's ninth youngest
By Chris Marshall-Bell • Published
-
'I love just applying myself fully to something that requires all of you': Lachlan Morton is set to ride 1,000km mountain bike race
The Munga is a 1,000km mountain bike race across the desert of South Africa
By Tim Bonville-Ginn • Published
-
'We can’t wait to help add the next chapter in this team’s great history': EF Education First set to become co-title sponsor for Tibco-SVB women's team in 2022
The American company joins multiple other male team sponsors that are investing into the women's side of the sport
By Tim Bonville-Ginn • Published
-
James Shaw’s WorldTour return confirmed as he signs with EF Education-Nippo
The 25-year-old Brit suffered the disappointment of being dropped from the WorldTour in 2018, but he’s back next year
By Alex Ballinger • Published
-
Stefan Bissegger storms to impressive victory in Benelux Tour stage two time trial
The Swiss rider beat some of the world's best time triallists including Stefan Küng and Remco Evenepoel
By Tim Bonville-Ginn • Published
-
Five talking points from stage 12 of the Vuelta a España 2021
Cort in form, Roglič touches tarmac again, and a new name emerges - the biggest moments from the day
By Stephen Puddicombe • Published
-
Esteban Chaves joins EF Education-Nippo for 2022 after eight years at Team BikeExchange
The Colombian has seen a lot of success while riding with the Australian squad but wants a new challenge
By Tim Bonville-Ginn • Published