Leg injury causes Aru to abandon Volta a Catalunya

Image 1 of 5

Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) didn't start stage 6 of the Volta a Catalunya after spending much of the race suffering major bruising in an upper leg muscle. Aru was 96th overall, more than 26 minutes down when he quit the race.

"He's been suffering since day one, when he had a bad crash after 20 kilometres," UAE Team Emirates directeur sportif Joxean Fernandez told Cyclingnews after stage 6. “More than ten riders came down when somebody skidded at a roundabout and they all crashed.

"He had a muscle contraction" - in his rectus femoris in the upper leg - "and we've been treating that. But it was snowing this [Saturday] morning, and it's due to rain tomorrow, so we decided that he should abandon as a precaution.

"We went to a top clinic in Barcelona" - the Sagrada Familia - "and checked the injury wasn't a major one, and on Tuesday he’ll be back on the Teide training again as normal.

"The last few days, we told him not to push himself too hard, because it was hurting him."

In a team press release, UAE Team Emirates added that “An MRI carried out on Fabio Aru today, March 24, at the Sagrada Familia clinic in Barcelona showed “an edema of post-traumatic rectus femoris. Excluding direct injuries.”

Michele de Grandi, team doctor at the Volta a Catalunya, said, “The exam showed an important edema to the rectus femoris that caused major pain, but it luckily excluded significant injuries. Fabio will need to rest for a few days and then he will be able to gradually restart his work.”

Fabio Aru added, "This hematoma caused me pain and to continue riding on it would have been harmful.

"Going on like that did not make sense. The most important thing is that it is not a serious issue and that after a few days of rest, I can leave for home.

"This inconvenience… will not affect my approach to the Giro d’Italia. A few days of rest and then I will put my head down and push on with my schedule."