VIDEO. Cycling: after a violent fall, Wout Van Aert forced to abandon the Tour of Spain

Une chute qui a fait des dégâts. MAXPPP – JAVIER LIZON

Belgian Wout Van Aert, the Vuelta a España's leading light, was forced to abandon the 16th stage on Tuesday after a violent fall on a descent, the organisers announced.

The Belgian champion, winner of three stages and leading the mountains and points classification, made a mistake on the descent of the Collada Llomena, the second difficulty, at km 131.

After a mixed season marked by his violent fall at the end of March in the A travers la Flandre race, the Visma Lease a bike road sprinter had regained his form, winning the bronze medal in the time trial at the Paris Olympics before shining on the roads from Spain.

On Tuesday, he was still at the forefront and had consolidated his lead in the mountain classification by taking the lead in the first two difficulties listed on the course.

But after a minor fall at the very start of the stage, he went straight on in a left turn before violently hitting the wall. He set off again just a few dozen meters before giving up.