Tom Pidcock forced out of Tour of Catalunya after ‘horror’ fall

British rider Tom Pidcock is out of the Volta a Catalunya after crashing during Friday’s fifth stage.

The Pinarello-Q36.5 rider had what he described as a “horror” fall in a ravine after he went off the road, misjudging a corner during the penultimate descent of the day.

The 26-year-old eventually finished more than 29 minutes behind stage winner Jonas Vingegaard.

But following medical checks, he has been ruled out of the remainder of the race.

“Due to his crash he suffered injuries, most likely bone and ligament damage in particular to his right knee and also right wrist,” said team doctor Lorenz Emmert.

“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.”

Pidcock won the Milano-Torino race earlier this month and was just edged out in the Milan-San Remo by world champion Tadej Pogacar.

“We did everything to try to make it to the start [of Saturday’s stage six] but it’s not possible,” said the two-time Olympic cross-country mountain bike champion.

“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.”