Kurt-Asle Avesen's crashes out of Vuelta as Tour proceeds to stage 7 – Cycling Update
Kurt-Asle Avesen crashed at stage 5 when his bike hit a young boy at 70 km/h but the 36-year-old managed to finish the stage. The Norwegian who is riding in his last grand tour did not give up despite a serious attack as he started stage 6 of Vuelta a Espana
but he had to quit the race with 50 kilometres to go on in the stage as Kurt could not resist the injuries after the high speed crash.
Arvesen joined Team Sky on September 10, 2009 as he signed the team for 2010-11 seasons along with Lars Petter Nordhaug and Edvald Boasson Hagen who also joined the team in 2010.
He won the starting first stage at the Tour of Qatar in 2010 but could not continue as he broke his collarbone while involved in a crash during the same Tour.
Kurt was hopeful to participate in the World Championships this year but now believes that his chances to compete in the world’s event are not very promising as he said, "I must give it a few days first. Am I not 100 percent, but we have others who can do
a good job. I will not take any decision on it now, but I feel surprisingly good."
He further added that he is disappointed by the crash right before the World Championships and even if he will not make it through to the World Championships starting on September 1 he believes that his team will still do great.
Peter Sagan of Liquigas-Cannondale finished the 185.7 kilometre stage 6 of Vuelta a Espana 2011 in a total time of 4:38:22 as he secured the first position with Pablo Lastras at second and Valerio at third position.
Swiss rider Martin Kohler won the most combative rider award while team Liquigas-Cannondale, Movistar and Quickstep Cycling Team were at the first, second and third positions respectively at the end of stage 6.
Sylvain Chavanel of Quickstep Cycling Team is leading stage 6 general classifications with Daniel Moreno of Katusha team at second and the Spanish rider Vincenzo Nibali of team Liquigas-Cannondale at third position.
The 66th edition of Vuelta a Espana has moved in to stage 7 as cyclists will ride the 187.6 kilometre stage starting from Almaden as the race will finish at Talavera de la Reina.
Johnny Weltz, the former Danish professional cyclist commented about the stage 7 as he said, "This is typical of a Vuelta stage that at first glance might suit the sprinters but could actually cause them some problems. For a start, these roads are rolling
and tend to be very heavy. Once again, the wind could have an impact on the outcome too."
Stage 7 is mostly plain with no categorised climbs but will test the sprinters since the stage is flat and it will be interesting to see how teams approach the stage as the grand tour is progressing towards the second phase.
Tags: