Tour de France 2014: Alberto Contador worse than first feared

Having pulled out of this year's Tour de France, the Spaniard will also miss the Vuelta a Espana

Alberto Contador (GETTY IMAGES)

Alberto Contador has revealed he will not ride in this year’s Vuelta a Espana following complications in his recovery from injury.

Contador fractured his right tibia during Stage 10 of the Tour de France and was forced to abandon. He underwent surgery last week at the Clinica Centro in Madrid and was expecting a “three or four week” recovery period.

That would have left the four-times Grand Tour winner ready to compete in his home race. Now however he has had to revise those initially optimistic aims.

“Bad day,the wound healing gets complicated, I've no date to take the bike. Goodbye to the Vuelta,” Contador wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

Contador’s bad news comes after a fine few days for his team Tinkoff-Saxo. The Polish climber Rafal Majka’s Stage 14 win was followed yesterday by Michael Rogers’ solo breakaway victory in Bagnères-de-Luchon.

The Spaniard’s absence may leave the Vuelta door of opportunity open for another man currently sidelined by injury – Sky’s Chris Froome.

Froome was also forced to abandon the Tour with broken bones, and is himself said to be targeting the race that begins in Jerez on 23 August.