Chetout and Cherel hoping to recover from Vuelta a Espana crash

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Cofidis' Loïc Chetout and AG2R La Mondiale's Mikael Cherel will use Monday's rest day at the Vuelta a España to try to recover from the crash they were both involved in during the early part of stage 9 on Sunday.

The crash – apparently the result of a stray water bottle – happened around 40km into the 200.8km stage, and brought down a number of riders, but Chetout and Cherel were the only two left on the deck after the tangle of bikes was extricated from battered limbs.

Chetout found himself in a storm drain on the left-hand side of the road, and the 25-year-old at least appeared to have come off worse with almost the entire back of his jersey ripped open and much of the left leg of his shorts missing.

Cherel, meanwhile, was at the bottom of the pile, and took his time to remount while medical staff gave him the once over, but then rode on sporting a bloodied right elbow and a severely torn jersey.

Explaining what had happened came in the form of a tweet from 32-year-old Cherel on Sunday evening: "Sometimes you miss water bottles that have been lost, or stupidly dropped, on the road by just a couple of centimetres, but other times you hit them square on..."

Once riding again, Chetout received medical attention from the race doctor's car, which included having an injury to his thigh looked at, but the two Frenchmen were later seen chatting together once safely back in the confines of the peloton, no doubt comparing who had the least amount of jersey material left on their back.

Both riders finished the stage, although no reports on their injuries have yet been released by their teams.

After Monday's rest day, Cherel and Chetout will hope to have recovered sufficiently to remain in the race, which continues on Tuesday with stage 10 between Salamanca and Fermoselle, a stone's throw away from the Portuguese border.