Wesley Sulzberger (Orica-GreenEDGE) crashed on the Mirador del Ezaro climb yesterday and was left with a broken collarbone. The tough Australian made it up the 30% climb and all the way to the finish but having seen the x-ray, he has decided to abandon the race and hasn't started today's fifth stage.

Wesley Sulzberger had made the Vuelta a Espana his major target this year but the Australian only made it through 4 stages. A broken collarbone and a small elbow fracture has forced him out of the race.

The Australian crashed on the 30% Mirador del Ezaro climb with 35km to go in yesterday's stage and despite severe pain, he made it up the steep slopes and finished the stage. Having been transported to a nearby hospital, he was informed of the extent of his injuries and he has decided to abandon the race.

"I was in a good position before the start of the climb," he said. "There were barriers at the start, and a BMC rider in front of me almost hit the barrier. He tail-whipped his bike and braked heavily to avoid crashing. I dodged the barrier and was about to hit the BMC rider. Instead, I braked to avoid riding into him and went up and over my handlebars. Leigh Howard stopped to help me get my bar straightened out, and we set off up the climb together."

"I haven't broken anything before," he added. "It was painful, but I didn't want to give up if it wasn't broken. When I saw [the x-ray] I understood what had happened and that I wouldn't be starting tomorrow. I also have a very small fracture in my elbow."

"I'm extremely disappointed," he continued. "I had so much to offer the team at this Vuelta, and it has been my season objective to arrive here in top form." 

Sulzberger had shown good form in the recent Tour of Utah where he made it into a number of breakaways and had hoped to use his good climbing legs and fast sprint to win a stage from an escape group.

Sulzberger is the third rider to abandon the Vuelta. Theo Bos never started the race due to low cortisol levels while Koldo Fernandez was unable to start stage 2 following a crash in the opening team time trial.