Spanish time trial champion abandons race but escapes serious injury
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Ion Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) tried to stick with Valverde in Murcia(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Ion Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Ion Izagirre at the Bahrain-Merida camp(Image credit: Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team)
Spanish time trial champion Ion Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) crashed out of the Ruta del Sol in Friday's third stage, but the 28-year-old appears to have avoided serious injury.
Izagirre started the stage 3 time trial in Lucena, Spain, sitting fourth overall but took a hard fall that forced him to abandon the race. The crash left Izagirre in serious pain, but the team announced on Twitter a few hours later that he had not broken any bones in the incident.
Bahrain-Merida also posted a video of Izagirre in the team hotel.
"Bad luck today," Izagirre says in the video. "I crashed in the downhill and we'll see in the next race."
It remains to be seen whether Izagirre will be ready for Paris-Nice, the next event on his planned 2017 race calendar. He finished fifth overall there in 2016.
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