Formolo unable to continue in Vuelta a Espana after stage 6 crash
Italian a non-starter on stage 7 due to pelvis pain
Davide Formolo abandoned the Vuelta a España due to injuries sustained in the mass crash on stage 6. The Italian managed to finish the stage but the decision was made on Friday morning not to start stage 7.
The Italian champion was one of a number of riders who went down in the crash that occurred 90km from the finish of Thursday's stage. His Bora-Hansgrohe team explained he'd suffered a blow to the pelvis.
Despite remounting, Formolo was visibly in discomfort for the remainder of the stage. He spent a lot of time back with his team car and while he rejoined the peloton for the final climbs, he eventually finished 13 minutes down on the main GC group.
"Davide was able to finish yesterday's stage after the crash, but was suffering from pain in the right side of his pelvis and this did not improve overnight," read a statement from the team.
Formolo had started the day 12th overall, with his teammate Rafał Majka eighth. The 26-year-old was in decent form coming into the race, finishing seventh at the Tour de Pologne after taking the Italian road race title.
He takes the abandon toll from that mass crash to five, after the EF Education First duo of Rigoberto Urán and Hugh Carthy both suffered broken collarbones, CCC Team's Victor de la Parte suffered multiple fractures, and former race leader Nicolas Roche required 12 stitches in his arm.
Despite the loss of Formolo, Bora-Hansgrohe bounced back on Friday's stage 7, with Majka moving up to fifth overall after finishing fifth on the wickedly steep Alto Mas de la Costa climb.
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Patrick is an NCTJ-trained journalist, and former deputy editor of Cyclingnews, who has seven years’ experience covering professional cycling. He has a modern languages degree from Durham University and has been able to put it to some use in what is a multi-lingual sport, with a particular focus on French and Spanish-speaking riders. Away from cycling, Patrick spends most of his time playing or watching other forms of sport - football, tennis, trail running, darts, to name a few, but he draws the line at rugby.