Farrar leaves Vuelta

Yesterday saw Tyler Fararr take the first Grand Tour stage victory of his career, but the Garmin Slipstream rider has decided not to persist in the Vuelta a España. Although the 25-year-old is clearly one of the fastest sprinters in the race, he has decided to withdraw on the rest day and will concentrate on his next target, the World Championships in Mendrisio, Switzerland.

"Tyler will pull out of the Vuelta today," directeur sportif Johnny Weltz told Cyclingnews this morning. "Yesterday was a little extra, that went very well, but with the tough mountain stages ahead he'll stop now. He doesn't have any problems - we always planned that he'd pull out during the race as he's started three Grand Tours this year. He's a young guy and has already done a lot.

"The plan now is that he will head home now and prepare for the Worlds," he added.

Farrar has had an excellent season, netting a string of second and third places in the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France, winning three stages in the Eneco Tour, taking the Vattenfalls Cyclassics plus other successes. He's emerged as probably the biggest rival to Mark Cavendish, even if the Manx rider currently has the edge in sprints.

Farrar has been racing since February, when he finished fourth and fifth on stages of the Tour of California.