Tom Pidcock Withdraws from Volta a Catalunya Following Serious Fall
British cyclist Tom Pidcock, a two-time Olympic cross-country mountain bike gold medalist, has withdrawn from the Volta a Catalunya after experiencing a severe crash down a ravine.
The incident occurred late in stage five of the race on Friday, when the Pinarello-Q36.5 rider lost control after misjudging a corner. The stage covered 153.1km from La Seu d'Urgell to La Molina/Coll de Pal.
Pidcock finished the stage more than 29 minutes behind the winner, Jonas Vingegaard.
"I was drinking on the descent and misjudged a corner," Pidcock explained.
"I am lucky I could talk on the radio. I was far from the road and nobody knew I was there. 60km/h off a mountain road and I'm relatively OK."
Following medical evaluations, Pidcock was ruled out of the remainder of the race, which is scheduled to conclude on Sunday.
Team doctor Lorenz Emmert provided details on the injuries sustained:
"Due to his crash he suffered injuries, most likely bone and ligament damage in particular to his right knee and also right wrist.
Unfortunately we had to make the decision to take him out of the race. Further clinical evaluation and imaging will follow in the next days."
Earlier this month, Pidcock had notable performances, winning Milano-Torino and securing second place in Milan-San Remo behind world champion Tadej Pogacar.
"We did everything to try to make it to the start [of stage six] but it's not possible," said Pidcock.
"I fought to finish the stage yesterday to make sure I had the option to continue. Now the focus is on recovery, and I'll be back."
Jonas Vingegaard of Team Visma-Lease a Bike won the stage by 51 seconds, extending his lead in the general classification to 57 seconds.
