British Olympic champion Tom Pidcock has been forced to abandon the Volta a Catalunya after sustaining serious injuries in a dramatic crash during Friday's fifth stage.
The 26-year-old Pinarello-Q36.5 rider, who held second place in the overall standings just 13 seconds behind the leader, plunged into a ravine during the penultimate descent of the day.
Medical assessments conducted following the incident revealed probable bone and ligament damage to his right knee and wrist.
The two-time Olympic cross-country mountain bike gold medallist had been in strong form recently, claiming victory at Milano-Torino earlier this month and narrowly losing Milan-San Remo to world champion Tadej Pogacar.
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The incident occurred with nearly 30 kilometres of racing still remaining when Pidcock miscalculated a bend whilst taking a drink at approximately 60 kilometres per hour.
Television coverage failed to capture the moment the British star left the road.
His fall went entirely unnoticed by other competitors and race officials.
Finding himself stranded far from the roadside at the bottom of the ravine, Pidcock was fortunate to have his team radio functioning.
British Olympic champion Tom Pidcock has been forced to abandon the Volta a Catalunya after sustaining serious injuries in a dramatic crash
|GETTY
He explained afterwards: "I was far from the road and nobody knew I was there.
"I am lucky I could talk on the radio.
"I overshot it and went down the ravine.
"It was like one of these horror crashes you see, but I am okay."
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The British rider later took to Instagram to share images of the crash location
|The British rider later took to Instagram to share images of the crash location.
He wrote: "Today I lost a life for sure. Was drinking on the descent and completely misjudged my braking and went straight on here."
He added with characteristic humour: "I'm going to self-proclaim as a ninja crasher, 60kph off a mountain road and I'm relatively ok."
Team doctor Lorenz Emmert confirmed the extent of Pidcock's injuries in a statement released on Saturday morning.
Pidcock had battled on to complete Friday's stage despite his injuries
|GETTY
He said: "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."
Remarkably, Pidcock had battled on to complete Friday's stage despite his injuries, eventually crossing the line more than 29 minutes behind stage winner Jonas Vingegaard.
Pidcock said: "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."
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