Alberto Contador left bloodied and needing stitches after crash in China

Retired pro cyclist Alberto Contador was left with blood pouring from facial wounds that later required stitches after a crash at a Vuelta a España event in China.

The crash, first reported by Cyclingnews after the seven-time Grand Tour winner shared a video on Instagram, happened on Sunday as Contador took part in his home Grand Tour's new Beijing-based Desafío China by La Vuelta event.

In the footage posted by Contador, a rider can be seen falling, bringing down others behind, before the 40-year-old former pro is helped as his face and kit are covered in blood.

Displaying a black eye and stitches, Contador explained to his followers that he needed stitches to his eyebrow, cheek and lip but fortunately "it's not as bad as it looks".

"Today I went down on the Desafío China by La Vuelta," he said. "There was a crash in front of me, and as much as I tried to jump over the rider in front of me, it was impossible.

"I'm sending this video to transmit calmness. Despite the images, fortunately it's not as bad as it looks. Just a few stitches on the eyebrow, cheek and lip. We'll keep on going."

Contador also thanked Joaquím Rodríguez and 1988 Tour de France winner Pedro Delgado for "giving me so much peace of mind and support in those moments".

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Alberto Contador (@acontadoroficial)

The 40-year-old has remained prominent in the sport since retiring with an Angliru stage win at the 2017 Vuelta and runs the Eolo-Kometa UCI ProTeam alongside Ivan Basso, balancing the role with his punditry for Eurosport and GCN.

At the Giro, Contador interviewed Mark Cavendish after his Rome stage victory, calling it the "perfect finish" to the race and saying he was very happy for the sprinter who now rides for one of his former teams, Astana Qazaqstan, with whom Contador won the 2008 Giro and Vuelta and 2009 Tour.

He also spent time with Eolo-Kometa, saying he is "very proud" of his team, Davide Bais winning stage seven to Gran Sasso d'Italia from the breakaway, and "most importantly, being protagonists every day". "We continue with more strength and motivation than ever," he added.

Also alongside Basso, Contador teamed up to form a bike brand called Aurum, in 2020 launching a carbon disc brake road bike, the Aurum Magma, aimed at racers looking for a machine that can do a bit of everything. Perhaps to prove the point, the Spaniard went and used his own Magma in his 2020 Everesting world record ride.