Ryder Hesjedal found himself in the perfect position to take a second stage win in the Vuelta a Espana when he had made the right break in today's stage of the Vuelta a Espana. However, the Canadian hit the deck in a strange solo crash that he was unable to explain.

Having entered the race with lofty GC ambitions, Ryder Hesjedal saw it all come to nothing when he lost more than 3 minutes in the windy stage 5. Yesterday he struggled in the first summit finish and so he refocused on stage wins.

Today he was already on the attack when he joined the right break after a very fast start. Everything was looking good before he hit the deck with 15km to go, losing all chances of taking that elusive victory.

“I wish I knew why I crashed," he said. "We were in the break, going twisty to the side, all day through cities, De Marchi was yards in front of me, we were going at the same speed, we were comfortable, working as a group all day… I was following him and suddenly my tyre was just gone.

"I don’t know how fast we were going but I went straight to the head like that… I’m disappointed. I’ve worked hard. I had a chance to win today. I did my possible. It’s frustrating.”