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Kruijswijk hits an unmarked metal bollard and breaks collar bone

A pole in the final 2.5 kilometres of the Vuelta a España’s fifth stage in Lugo caused Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo) to crash. He abandoned the race and end his season with a broken left collarbone

Stage 5 to Lugo ended with a loop around the centre of the town in the shadow of the castle walls. Kruijswijk was the first to crash with two kilometres to go, falling at speed on the left-hand side of the road after hitting an unmarked and unprotected pole. Jan Bakelants (AG2R La Mondiale) crashed into him.

BREAKING VIDEO: Kruijswijk hits an unmarked metal bollard

“I crashed heavily into that pole,” said Kruijswijk. “It’s terrible that I have to leave this race because of an object that shouldn’t have been there. I’m going home immediately tomorrow. This was, after the Giro d’Italia, my second big target and I’m really fed up about the way I’m leaving this Vuelta.”

“It didn’t go the way we wanted in this race,” Sports Director Addy Engels said. “The first summit finish already was a disappointment. It went a little bit better yesterday and we were positive about the possibility that Steven Kruijswijk would have been able to reach his top level during this Vuelta."

“This crash is an enormous setback. Steven’s general classification was the team’s main target in this race. Now, we have to change plans. We only covered five stages so far, so we need some time to get used to this scenario. We definitely will have some chances, because we’re here with a strong team.”

An even bigger pile-up close to the final kilometre saw numerous riders go down as the road narrowed slightly and riders touched wheels, with Robert Kiserlovski amongst the most seriously affected. He got up and finished the stage with some help from teammates but the Tinkoff team confirmed he will not continue in the Vuelta a Espana due to acute pain in his lumbar-sacral vertebrae.

BREAKING VIDEO: Today's big crash in Stage 5 run in on the Vuelta 2016 

The race organiser issued a communique apologising for the Kruijswijk crash and said an internal investigation has been opened to find out why the obstacle was not indicated and warned about.

However the apology did little to placate the anger of some riders in the race and those watching at home. Several took to social media to vent their anger, remember that a similar unmarked and unprotected metal bollard was responsible for sparking a crash in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco that left Peter Stetina and Sergio Pardilla seriously injured.

Following the death of Antonie Demoitié’ in the spring and other accidents in races, the CPA riders' association has been trying to get the UCI to adopt new stricter standards for safety, including more explicit regulations for the final kilometres of races, with requirements for multiple inspections of the course before riders arrive.

The videos highlight the dangers of racing at speed and how numerous riders managed to avoid the crash. Others were not so lucky and crashed into the barriers or went over their bikes and hit the road.