Former pro cyclist Isidro Nozal critical after car crash

Spanish former professional Isidro Nozal remains in a critical but stable condition after car crash on Tuesday morning in Penagos, in northern Spain.

Nozal, 36, was driving on the N-634 motorway near his home of Bilbao when the crash occurred at 7:45am, according to Spanish reports. His car and another collided head-on with a lorry.

Medics pulled Nozal from his car that was stuck under a lorry and took him the hospital. An 18-year-old woman driving the other car involved in the incident escaped with minor injuries.

After being transferred to the Valdecilla Hospital, doctors removed Noval's spleen. He remains in the hospital's intensive care unit.

Nozal retired from competitive cycling in 2009, and is best known for winning two stages of the 2003 Vuelta a España while with team ONCE.

Doping cases clouded his career. He was sidelined for two weeks due to a high haematocrit level in 2005, and was named in the Operación Puerto case but later cleared. He stopped for good when he tested positive for EPO-CERA at the 2009 Tour of Portugal.

Three Liberty Seguros riders test positive for CERA

Isidro Nozal, Hector Guerra and Nuno Ribeiro fail test for EPO and are suspended