Bad news came up for the Movistar Team during the Queen stage of the 2015 Volta a Catalunya, over 188km with four categorized climbs between Tona and La Molina. Pablo Lastras suffered a crash on the descent of the Coll de Coubet (Cat-1), around 90km into the route, and was forced to abandon and moved via ambulance to the Hospital de Campdevànol.

Preliminary checks on the medical center have confirmed a fracture in his pelvis, ruling out any injuries on his femur initially announced by the race doctor. Lastras should be transfered by ambulance tonight to the Hospital Quirón Teknon in Barcelona, where he will undergo scanner checks that will confirm the extent of his injuries.

The final climb - preceeded by a long break where José Herrada featured prominently - witnessed a flurry of attacks in the decisive 5km where Alejandro Valverde wasn't able to respond as he would have wished. The Spaniard crossed the line in eighth place after choosing to follow his own pace against the attacks from Contador (TCS) and Porte (SKY), anticipated by an earlier move from stage winner Tejay van Garderen (BMC).

Bart De Clercq (LTS), one of the three escapees in Calella's opener, inherites the leader's jersey from Rolland (EUC) as the race's GC stays wide open, with all top-ten riders - including Alverde - within just fifty-four seconds with three days to go. The Alt de Lilla (Cat-2) thus becomes a protagonist of the race on Friday's exciting finale towards Valls (195km).

"The stage was very hard due to the accumulation of fatigue and because my body was pretty sore from yesterday's crash. Not that I've noticed it a lot, but it was there. But, hey, I have to be happy," he told Biciclismo. "The race is not over yet."