On stage 2 of the Vuelta a España, all was going well for Lidl-Trek's Matthias Vacek until an incident with a spectator nearly cost him the Best Young Rider jersey. On the “4 Alto da Batalha” climb of stage 4, Vacek hit the deck after a fan standing on the road blocked the path of a rider.

The Czech rider quickly got up and gestured to the people on the side of the road.

The 22-year-old, who had already closed a 45-second gap, then had to chase deep alone, finally catching up with the peloton with 10 km to go.

“I crashed on the last climb with 20km to go. 'I fell on the last climb with 20km to go. They touched me and I fell.

“It kind of pisses me off that some people don't care and don't let the racers pass at intervals, but that's the way it is. But that's the way it is. We made it to the finish and I'm glad we did.”

“It took a big effort to get back to the pack, but we still made up that much time, and we made up some ground. [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...]