Watch: Bizarre crash takes out Tejay van Garderen and Carlos Betancur at Vuelta a España

Riders crashed on seemingly innocuous stretch of road

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Stage six of the Vuelta a España saw a strange incident when Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) and Carlos Betancur (Movistar) crashed on a seemingly innocuous stretch of road on a descent.

Footage of the incident is inconclusive as to what caused the crash, but it appears to have been some sort of defect in the road with two other riders having crashed at the same point.

Axel Domont (Ag2r La Mondiale) and Jesper Hansen (Astana) had already crashed on the same stretch of road on the descent of the second-category Puerto del Garbi with just under 40km to go in the stage.

Footage appears to show van Garderen, sitting in third wheel behind Chris Froome (Team Sky) and the Trek-Segafredo duo of Alberto Contador and Jarlinson Pantano, losing control of his bike, taking out Betancur, then crashing to the side of the road.

Van Garderen was the best-placed of the crashing riders going into the stage, in second place just 10 seconds behind race leader Froome.

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Henry Robertshaw began his time at Cycling Weekly working with the tech team, writing reviews, buying guides and appearing in videos advising on how to dress for the seasons. He later moved over to the news team, where his work focused on the professional peloton as well as legislation and provision for cycling. He's since moved his career in a new direction, with a role at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.