Davis’ Vuelta campaign ends prematurely

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Quick Step’s Allan Davis and Carlos Barredo have been forced to withdraw from the Vuelta a España during stage nine due to stomach complaints. Both riders have been hampered by the problem in recent stages, but struggled through until today’s stage.

"Since the beginning of the Vuelta I had a feeling that something wasn’t right,” said Davis. “I was never able to be at a hundred percent in the final [sprints]. Today the situation got even worse. I had a stomach ache and had to stop a few times. My Vuelta ends here. Now I want to understand the cause of the problem to resolve it as quickly as possible.”

Like Davis Barredo also reported a worsening of the situation since finishing stage eight the previous day. Barredo had hoped for a strong showing in Spain to gain worlds selection, while Davis was also named on Australia’s long list at the weekend for the Swiss event.

"During yesterday’s stage I was suffering a lot, but I wanted to finish the stage to try and regain my strength,” said Barredo. “Unfortunately since yesterday evening the situation has gotten worse. I haven’t been able to eat anything and today during the race I had no energy.

“I’m really sorry for myself and for the team,” he added. “My goal had been to have a good Vuelta with my team and work towards the World Championships. It’s going to be harder to get a place in the Spanish selection, but I’m going to try. My conditioning is still really good."

Davis was 34 minutes down at the conclusion of stage eight while Barredo was just 11 minutes behind.