Alberto Contador gets facial stitches after Vuelta España event crash in China

Former pro rider and current Eolo-Kometa team co-owner Alberto Contador was left needing stitches to his eyebrow, cheek and lip after crashing hard at a Vuelta a España event in China.

The Spaniard, who retired from racing in 2017, was taking part in a group ride at the Vuelta's new event in Beijing, Desafío China by La Vuelta, when he was unable to avoid a crash in front of him.

The 40-year-old hit the road hard in the accident and bore the brunt of it face-first. He was left with a grisly-looking injury as blood streamed from several cuts on his face.

Sporting a shiner to his left eye and a stitched cut on his left cheekbone, Contador took to Instagram after the crash on Sunday to reassure fans that he was fine after the fall. He said that his injuries aren't as bad as they look and that he was stitched up in several places.

"Hi everyone. Today I went down on the Desafío China by La Vuelta," Contador wrote. "There was a crash in front of me and, as much as I tried to jump over the rider in front of me, it was impossible.

"I'm sending this video to transmit calmness. Despite the images fortunately it's not as bad as it looks. Just a few stitches to the eyebrow, cheek, and lip. We'll keep on going."

He went on to thank fellow ex-pros Joaquím Rodríguez and Pedro Delgado for helping in the aftermath of the crash.

Since retiring, seven-time Grand Tour winner Contador has stayed involved with professional cycling, working as a pundit and analyst for Eurosport as well as running the Eolo-Kometa team, which has grown from his own Fundación Contador amateur team into a Giro d'Italia stage-winning squad at ProTeam level.

He also runs a bike brand – Aurum – which is used by Eolo-Kometa, and in July 2020 he broke the 'Everesting' world record, climbing 8,848 metres in a time of 7:27:20. In December last year, he underwent surgery to remove 100 fatty lipomas (non-cancerous tumours).