Belgian Tom Boonen (Quick.Step-Innergetic) and Italian Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) joined Piepoli in withdrawing from the Vuelta a España, but it wasn't due to family emergencies or even the atrocious weather for Friday's stage 13.
Boonen crashed in the Vuelta, and was in ongoing pain afterward. He speculated at one point that he had broken a rib and his condition seemed to indicate that his participation in Worlds was in question.