Taaramae abandons Vuelta a España after being 'hit by team car'

Rein Taaramae was one of several riders to abandon the Vuelta a España on stage seven, but rather than struggling with illness or injury like the others, the Estonian was reportedly hit by a team car.

Taaramae was forced out if the race in the second half of the rolling stage to the Zamorra region, with his team Katusha reporting that he was 'hit by a team director's car'.

It's currently unsure whether it was a Katusha car that hit him, or that of another team, but the result was that Taaramae's bike was broken and he was forced out of the race.

"Bad luck for Rein Taaramae. Hit by a team director's car in race. Bike broken. Rein had to abandon. He is OK," tweeted Katusha.

Igor Anton (Dimension Data), Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) and Niccolo Bonifazio (Trek-Segafredo) are the other riders to have abandoned with 20km to go on stage seven, adding to the handful of riders who have already dropped out of the race.