British rider Simon Yates (Orica-GreenEdge) and Italian Fabio Aru (Astana) are among the many high-profile abandons during the penultimate stage of the Tour of the Basque Country in Spain on Friday.
With cold and wet conditions affecting the 'queen' mountains stage of the WorldTour-level event, there were several crashes – one of which took out 2015 Vuelta a España winner Aru.
Yates finished in fifth place overall in last year's race, and was placed in 21st position overall going into stage five, 51 seconds adrift of general classification leader Wilco Kelderman (LottoNL-Jumbo).
Early reports suggested that Yates had also suffered a crash. He had been targetting today's stage for a good performance.
Yates's brother and Orica-GreenEdge team-mate Adam remains in the race.
>>> Samuel Sanchez turns back the clock to win Tour of the Basque Country stage four
Along with Aru and Yates, other notable abandons during the stage included Daniel Martin (Etixx-QuickStep), Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) and Ryder Hesjedal (Trek-Segafredo).
The stage concludes with a steep ascent to Arrate, the last of the day's eight classified climbs.
The general classification will receive its final shake-up on the final stage on Saturday (April 9), a 16.5-kilometre hilly individual time trial.
More to follow...
-
-
Five things to look out for at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games women's road race
Dutch superstars, a balanced route, and the lone rangers - here's the things to look out for in the Olympics women's road race
By Stephen Puddicombe •
-
Anna van der Breggen launches signature clothing collection
Double world champion adds new kit range to her list of projects in her final year as a pro
By Simon Smythe •
-
Simon Yates planning to ride Tour de France like series of one-day races in search of stage wins and Tokyo form
The Brit says is aiming for a stage win in France before hoping to back up his form at the Olympic road race
By Jonny Long •
-
Demi Vollering continues her magnificent season winning La Course by Le Tour de France
Another breathless edition of La Course was won by new Dutch superstar Demi Vollering after excellent work from her SD Worx squad.
By Owen Rogers •
-
Richard Carapaz survives to win the Tour de Suisse overall
Home rider Gino Mäder wins the two-man sprint to win the stage after a spectacular day of racing
By Owen Rogers •
-
The race to the WorldTour - A new team enters the fight for a spot in cycling's top tier
Uno-X join a list of teams potentially looking to break into the WorldTour in the coming years
By Tim Bonville-Ginn •
-
Tour de France Femmes included in the 2022 Women’s WorldTour
There’ll be more top level women’s racing in the UK with the Women’s Tour and an expanded Ride London
By Owen Rogers •
-
Giro d’Italia 2021: Simon Yates says he ‘wanted to try something but didn’t have the legs’
The British star said he wanted to attack to improve on his podium place but couldn’t match Ineos Grenadiers
By Alex Ballinger •
-
Simon Yates believed Egan Bernal would let him go at Giro d’Italia after reading rival’s comments in media
The British climber said he had a feeling Ineos Grenadiers wouldn’t try to chase on stage 19
By Alex Ballinger •
-
Simon Yates reveals he was chasing the breakaway and didn’t realise Egan Bernal was dropped
The Brit gain timed on his rivals, but said he wasn’t trying to distance Bernal
By Alex Ballinger •
