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Updated: Alberto Contador out of Tour de France - after riding 18km with broken leg

Spaniard crashes with around 100km left of today's stage, tries to carry on but forced to give up...

UPDATED: Alberto Contador has abandoned the Tour de France this afternoon - after riding 18 kilometres with what turns out to be a broken tibia in a desperate attempt to remain in the race. The Spaniard pulled out of today's Stage 10 with around 80 kilometres left to ride after a heavy crash earlier on as he descended in the wet.

In a statement issued this evening, his manager at Tinkoff-Saxo, Bjarne Riis, said: “Alberto crashed on a fast and straight part of the descent. He was reaching for his pocket and the bike was swept away under him probably because of a bump or hole in the road.

"Alberto was in the shape of his life and the entire team had our eyes fixed on the podium in Paris and the work we would have to do to get there.”

Some riders who saw Contador crash gave their own version of what had happened. According to a tweet from Danish journalist Mikkel Condé, Astana’s Jakob Fuglsang said: “Contador took a big risk. On a descent with bad asphalt, he passed us, went 10-15 km/h faster. 1k later he fell on his ass." 

Meanwhile, the Dutch journalist and commentator José Been said on Twitter that Lotto-Belisol’s Jurgen Van den Broeck had told Sporza: "It was Contador's own fault. He stepped on the pedals to overtake and rode in a hole."

Following the crash, which happened with around 100 kilometres still to ride of the 161.5 kilometre stage from Mulhouse to La Planche des Belles Filles, the Tinkoff-Saxo rider waited as the race doctor strapped his right knee.

He also had tears to the left hip of his bibshorts as well as the rear of his jersey, and seemed to be in pain from a wrist injury.

Ironically, given the vast media presence at the Tour nobody was pointing a camera in Contador's direction when he crashed. Social media rushed to fill the void, rumours swept the Twitterverse that the frame of Contador's Speicalized had broken in the impact. Certainly a picture from AFP, tweeted by Telegraph Sport journalist John MacLeary shows a bike with the Spanish rider's frame number clearly snapped both on the downtube and where the top tube meets the seatpost.

 

 

However, some claimed that the picture is of Contador's spare bike, said to have fallen from his team car's roof rack and then have been run over by another vehicle, Dutch website Nusport.NL was later reported to be quoting Belkin's team manager Meerijn Zeeman as saying that a Tinkokff Saxo bike did fall land on a Belkin team car after bikes became entangled following a close pass from a Tinkoff - Saxo car, he doesn't appear to mention any damage though.

To further add to the fog of rumour and counter-rumour, Danish television channel TV2 says Contador was actually riding a bike lent to him by Nicolas Roche following an earlier crash - and pictures of the bike beside the rider at the roadside as the doctor treated him suggest that one was undamaged.

The picture cleared only somewhat during the evening when Specialized released a statement  wishing Contador a speedy recovery and pulling together all the strands of information available to them about the crash. 

"All of us at Specialized are devastated to see Alberto Contador withdraw from the Tour. He is a true champion with the heart of a warrior and he had a great chance at Yellow this year. We have spoken to Alberto's brother as well as his personal mechanic (Faustino Muñoz) and the mechanic who was at the scene (Rune Kristensen), and contrary to some early, unconfirmed reports, frame failure was not involved in Alberto's incident today. Nicolas Roche was involved in a separate incident today and while his bike was laying on the road it was run over by a car causing it to break, potentially giving rise to the initial inaccurate reporting. Live race reporting is difficult and sometimes mistakes are made. We are continuing to research the events of today and will share any further details as we learn more."

However, the bike pictured in John MacLeary's tweet clearly bore Contador race number - 31, not Roche's and is certainly not Roche's first choice bike he's on the new McLaren Tarmac SL which has a distinctive paint job (see pic below) - and at $15,000 a pop isnt' the sort of bike you'd want to make a habit of running over

Yet another version of events was supplied to Cyclingtips.com - who were told that the bike pictured was indeed Contador's but was his spare (and yes, his mechanic was enough of a perfectionist to have a race number on both of Contador's bike). The spare had been inadvertently run over by the team car after the mechanic got it down for Contador, at which point point presumably Contador was given Roche's bike instead. 

Following the crash Contador, clearly in pain, eventually remounted with a 5 minute deficit on the group he had been riding with including his chief rival for the overall victory, Astana's Vincenzo Nibali, who went on to win today's stage at La Planche des Belles Filles and is back in the race leader's yellow jersey.

“After the crash, Alberto got back on the bike and we tried for about 18 kilometres to keep him in the race," continued Riis. Despite his best efforts and an impressive show of willpower, he had to abandon the race.

The rider was taken to the finish in the team car and his leg was x-rayed, revealing the fracture, as Riis explained: “Alberto has broken his tibia just below the knee. It’s not a complicated fracture but it probably requires surgery. He will stay with us tonight and tomorrow he will travel back to Madrid to undergo further examinations and a surgery if necessary."

His absence from the race means that there are now no former winners left in this year's Tour de France after Andy Schleck and Chris Froome abandoned last week. The Team Sky rider was quick to tweet his commiserations to Contador.

However, Riis made it clear that it's premature to talk about when Contador might return to racing. “We will naturally have to look ahead," he said. "But right now it’s to early to say anything about the possibility of Alberto riding Vuelta a Espana. It depends on his recovery and on how fast he can get back on the bike and start training again”,

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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76 comments

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Hooch1987 | 9 years ago
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Luano | 9 years ago
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Had a moment of utter idiocy there and forgot about the cars/spare bikes scenario! Duuhhh
Either way, bike definetly looks clean considering conditions...

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antonio | 9 years ago
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Ah, if only Holmes and Watson were still around!

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redmeat | 9 years ago
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Spare bikes don't have numbers on, do they?

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drfabulous0 | 9 years ago
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Don't need Holmes, a frame doesn't break in that way from any forces normally associated with riding or crashing, even if it were a shitty Chinese copy it would have failed further up the top tube. It's quite possible to break one of these in a crash but the frame in the pic was most likely run over.

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workhard | 9 years ago
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" Alberto Contador has abandoned the Tour de France this afternoon - after riding 18 kilometres with what turns out to be a broken fibia in a desperate attempt to remain in the race. "

Where in the body is this fibia? Is it near the fibula or closer to the tibia?

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hampstead_bandit | 9 years ago
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@nick t

Corporate shill?

Its not a conspiracy and I don't work for Specialized and never have

concept stores are not owned by specialized .

I actually work in a Giant brand store if that helps clarify your concerns  3

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David Arthur @d... | 9 years ago
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Specialized posted this a little while ago. We've made contact with them and they're getting back to us soon, once they've got to the bottom of what actually happened

"We are concerned about the well-being of Alberto and will be keeping you up to date on information from the incident here. This is DS Bjarne Riis description of the crash, "“Alberto crashed on a fast and straight part of the descent. He was reaching for his pocket and the bike was swept away under him probably because of a bump or hole in the road. Alberto was in the shape of his life and the entire team had our eyes fixed on the podium in Paris and the work we would have to do to get there”. Reports from Tinkoff-Saxo are saying the team car drove over the frame and Alberto was given a new bike but, after riding 18km further with a broken leg he had to abandon. Please check back here for the most up to date information. "

http://www.iamspecialized.com/news/get-well-soon-alberto/

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Jones The Steam | 9 years ago
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Can't believe I'm the first person to point out there's no such bone as the fibia.

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hampstead_bandit | 9 years ago
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@nick t

Written attempts at sarcasm never translate well?

Unfortunately intonation gets lost in the written word...

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I love my bike | 9 years ago
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Can't believe that ITV4's prize this week is a Specialized bike!

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farrell | 9 years ago
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Just to add more fuel to different fires, why did Riis look so suspicious when removing the gilet from Contador's jersey pocket? He seemed to pull it out dead quickly, then almost hid it behind his back.

 35

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Leviathan | 9 years ago
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Its a shame to loose the 'Bad Guy' of the tour. No drama on the climbs or Contador taking time back on the TT.

ITV4 confirmed there were two crashes, which explains why he was riding Roche's bike and explains why he was riding fast to catch up before the second BIG wipeout. As for the broken frame. The second big crash we can see the bike is pretty fine even after he slide for 100m, there is no need to doubt the 'car ran over it' story (except for a bit of internet forum fun.)

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Argos74 | 9 years ago
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//i.imgur.com/r48MVUR.png)

//i.imgur.com/4Nb5n0j.jpg?1)

Is a conspiracy. I see triangles.

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NeilG83 | 9 years ago
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On the subject of bike failures did anyone notice Izaguirre's forks snap soon after Froome's crash on stage 4?

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bikeyourbest | 9 years ago
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You guys are just mean.  4

Contador is a beast. Riding 18k with a broken leg is amazing. Unless of course...wait...you don't suppose he was riding Cancellara's old motorized Cervelo do you?

And in other sporting news, a soccer player collapsed in agony when his jersey was touched by an opposing player.

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Colin Peyresourde | 9 years ago
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No conspiracy for me. Bike run over by car. You'd get a very definite shearing pattern, but that looks twisted, so compressed and broken.

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Blackhound | 9 years ago
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Chris James | 9 years ago
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The velonews link above is now saying:

'UPDATE: However, a fourth version of events has since come to the fore, and it’s the most plausible yet. According to Specialized’s Giampaolo Mondini, one of Contador’s frames was broken while it was still on the roof. Following Contador’s crash, the team car had to rush to his aid and clipped the Belkin car as it passed, destroying the bike.

“What happened next is that the team car tried to get recover position and get up to him, passing all the other team cars in doing so. The road was really narrow and the second bike on the roof ended up touching those on the Belkin team car. It was going pretty fast and the frame broke on top of the roof due to the impact,” Mondini told CyclingTips.

“When the car arrived to Contador, Roche had left his bike to the side [for Contador to use if necessary]. The people inside didn’t initially realize that the bike on the roof had been broken as things were so stressful. Everybody was a little bit confused. Contador got a third bike and got going, but unfortunately couldn’t continue in the race.”

The broken bike had Contador’s number on it, suggesting it was his primary bike. But it was also quite clean, suggesting it had been on the roof, rather than ridden. Most teams don’t put numbers on riders’ second bikes, but Munoz has done so in the past. It is plausible that the broken bike had indeed been on the roof of the team car, rather than under Contador. CyclingTips was able to corroborate the crash story with the driver of the Belkin car. The fourth version of the story, it seems, is finally the correct one.

The timeline from the crash onwards:

Contador hit the ground while trying to eat near the bottom of the descent.

Roche stopped, left Contador his McLaren Tarmac.

Contador got onto his third bike after the crash, an S-Works Tarmac with a normal Tinkoff paint job, and without a race number. His first bike had been crashed, and his second obliterated by an impact with another car. A brief shot on television showed his mechanic picking up his crashed bike, still in one piece.

Contador did not swap bikes onto Roche’s McLaren frame, as initially speculated. Roche finished the stage on his second bike, rather than his McLaren. The story of Roche’s bike getting run over seems to have been born of the confusion surrounding the incident.'

Which sounds the most likely version yet, and explains why the bike looks clean.

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nicholassmith | 9 years ago
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If only Tinkoff-Saxo had taken Wiggins they'd have had a plan b!

Hope Contador bounces back for the Vuelta, but everyone seems to think that he's going to be out until the end of the season. What a rider to ride on with a broken leg as well, it looked like he was really struggling the second he got back on though.

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stevebull-01 | 9 years ago
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Not a massive fan of Contador, but I don't like to see a rider have to abandon, especially one who would have made Nibali work a bit harder.

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zedand3 | 9 years ago
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Nobody so far seems to have commented on the shifty looking character on the "grassy knoll" opposite. No coincidence surely?  3

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fustuarium | 9 years ago
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This is starting view like a Hammer Horror as they get bumped off one by one.

As we speak, there's probably the mother of all St Christopher medallions on its way to Nibs from the Vatican!

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hairyairey | 9 years ago
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Can't say I've ever noticed riders numbers on spare bikes but it makes perfect sense for a quick changeover.

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farrell replied to antonio | 9 years ago
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antonio wrote:

Ah, if only Holmes and Watson were still around!

Aye, they'd probably have bloody good experience of riding on cobbles too...

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Nick T replied to hampstead_bandit | 9 years ago
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hampstead_bandit wrote:

@nick t

Corporate shill?

Its not a conspiracy and I don't work for Specialized and never have

concept stores are not owned by specialized .

I actually work in a Giant brand store if that helps clarify your concerns  3

I think your Sarco-Matic 5000 needs a bit of fettling there, buddy  3

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Nick T replied to Jones The Steam | 9 years ago
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Jones The Steam wrote:

Can't believe I'm the first person to point out there's no such bone as the fibia.

Neither can the author of the post 3 up from yours.

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notfastenough replied to farrell | 9 years ago
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farrell wrote:

Just to add more fuel to different fires, why did Riis look so suspicious when removing the gilet from Contador's jersey pocket? He seemed to pull it out dead quickly, then almost hid it behind his back.

 35

That was weird wasn't it? "Haha, I'm such a cunning pickpocket that he will now restart without a gilet! Serves him right for having hurty knee!"

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redmeat replied to Blackhound | 9 years ago
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Blackhound wrote:

Nico Roche's blog in todays Irish Indo:

http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/cycling/we-were-so-confiden...

Quote:

We were riding close to the front of the peloton, doing about 70kph in the wet, on a really long straight bit of road, when Alberto reached into the pocket in the back of his jersey for some food and hit a hole in the road.

Unable to control his bike with one hand, his front wheel went from under him and he went head first, bounced off the road and slid into the grass verge. Riding a few places behind him in the group, I locked up my wheels and threw myself to the side to try and stop. With the speed I was going though, I only came to a halt about 50 metres after him.

I jumped off my bike and ran back up to where he was lying in shock on the grass at the side of the road.

As I helped Alberto up, I noticed his bike was broken and there was a stream of blood coming from a gash just under his right knee. His wound looked pretty bad but as a rider, my natural instinct was to simply hand him my bike and encourage him to keep going.

Pretty conclusive.

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Simon_MacMichael replied to bikeyourbest | 9 years ago
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bikeyourbest wrote:

Contador is a beast. Riding 18k with a broken leg is amazing. Unless of course...wait...you don't suppose he was riding Cancellara's old motorized Cervelo do you?

The "alleged" motorised bike was a Specialized... plot thickens  3

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