Euskaltel-Euskadi rider Mikel Landa was brought down by a cow in yesterday's sixth stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné. Landa abandoned the race and he was diagnosed with a fractured right clavicule later on. It is bad luck for the neopro, who also broke the same collarbone in March, at the Vuelta a Murcia.
The peloton was going at high speed when cows jumped onto the roadway during stage sixth of the Critérium. Most riders were able to get past the animals, but Landa and Arnold Jeannesson (Française des Jeux) came down. Landa landed on the asphalt, while Jeannesson was thrown into the ditch. Both riders were initially reported as having continued the race, but only Jeannesson made it to the finish line in Le Collet d’Allevard.
Landa was taken to a hospital, where examinations confirmed the fracture. Landa was already out in the spring with the same injury on the same collarbone. He had to sit out competition for a total of two months then and is facing the same delay this time around. In the incident in March, he fell when a rider in front of him crashed. Landa hit a tree and was unconscious for a few seconds.
Last year he was racing for Orbea, where his best result was a fifth place at the Tour de l'Avenir.