Sánchez ruled out for rest of season

Samuel Sánchez has been forced to put a premature end to his season - and his Euskaltel career with it - after crashing hard at the recent World Championships.

'Samu' crashed out of the road race and failed to finish the marquee event. Two days later it's been confirmed by VeloNews that he'll skip this weekend's Il Lombardia.

The 35-year-old is reportedly bruised up and suffers from knee pain, and has been ordered by team doctors to take two weeks off the bike.

While he might be done racing for the year, he'll by no means struggle to find stuff to do in his spare time. The Euskaltel icon is yet to confirm where he'll be getting his pay check from next year, but it's widely believed he'll join Alberto Contador at Saxo-Tinkoff.

Photo: Iñaki Azanza