Boonen and Rebellin withdraw from Vuelta

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.

Instead, both said that they were withdrawing to prepare very specifically for the World Road Championships in Stuttgart coming up on September 30.

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.