Martínez cries for Antón

Egoi Martínez was dragged down with Igor Antón in that fateful crash that forced Igor to abandon 7km from the line in today's 14th stage of the Vuelta a España. Initial reports suggested Egoi had broken his right collarbone, but after being stretchered away to hospital and undergoing some scans, it transpires it was 'only' a dislocated shoulder, no fractures sustained at all. He'll be forced to wear a cast for approximately a week, but this is good news as he won't be out of play for as long as previously feared. But Egoi's spirits were still low as Igor's enforced DNF weighed heavily on his mind. Speaking from the comfort of his hotel room, Egoi admitted to Bici Ciclismo that he shed a few tears for his companion. "It's only the second time in my career that I've cried", the reliable domestique said. "And I cried right there on the ground. We did not deserve to be this unlucky. We were looking strong and solid as a team, and we were motivated by the fact that we had finally found 'the chosen one', a leader with a chance of winning this Vuelta... It's a very hard moral blow for the whole team, but we'll have to get on with it because life goes on. There will be more chances for us to perform to the same level." Speaking of the crash itself, he shed more light on the matter by saying: "I stayed on his wheel because we were going really fast and there was a lot of tension. I was about to take him to the front of the peloton, so that he could start the ascent well placed, when he suddenly hit a pothole or an obstacle of some kind, resulting in him losing his grip on his handlebars and consequently hitting the deck. I couldn't possibly avoid it and I ran into him".