Vuelta Femenina: Gaia Realini and Kasia Niewiadoma both out ahead of stage 6

Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek) and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) will not start stage 6 of the Vuelta Femenina, suffering from the effects of a crash and illness respectively.

The pair were among the favourites for the Vuelta podium, but the race will continue without them as red jersey Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) loses two climbing adversaries in one go.

Third overall in 2023, Realini started the Vuelta as one of the favourites for the win or podium, and wore the red jersey after stage 1, but came off on a fast descent during Thursday’s stage.

She got back on and finished the stage, losing over seven minutes to winner Vollering but will not continue the week’s racing. The extent of her injuries are not yet confirmed, but she has pain and concussion symptoms. Lidl-Trek remain in the GC battle with Elisa Longo Borghini sitting second overall, 31 seconds behind Vollering.

“Unfortunately Gaia Realini will not start stage 6 after her crash yesterday,” her team confirmed on Friday morning.

“Gaia is suffering from pain in her chest and right elbow, as well as a minor concussion. She will go to hospital this morning, accompanied by the team doctor for further checks.”

Read more: Vuelta Femenina stage 5: Demi Vollering takes commanding win on first summit finish

Niewiadoma, meanwhile, leaves the race on Friday due to illness.

"After battling with a small sickness since the Ardennes Classics, our medical team decided it’s best for Kasia to stop the race early and allow a full recovery," her Canyon-SRAM team said in a short message on social media.

"I made a decision to come to the race not feeling 100% healthy hoping my body would find a way to full recovery, knowing I was in a good shape somehow made it impossible for me to think I could just skip this week of racing, this time body won and I had to forget about personal ambitions," the Pole added on Instagram.

Niewiadoma had been well placed on GC, but was one of the first riders to struggle on Thursday's final climb, and shipped 1:30 to Vollering on the line, slipping to eighth overall.

She is currently scheduled to return to racing at Itzulia Women (10-12 May) but this may now change.

Losing so much time on stage 5, as well as on stage 4, Realini’s GC tilt was effectively already over, but she could have been a contender for the remaining climbing stages had she continued. Instead, the 22-year-old leaves the race, and it is not yet clear where her next goals will be.

Realini started the Vuelta as a big favourite for the overall, having finished third and won a stage here in 2023. Her GC hopes took a hit on stage 4, when she was caught on the wrong side of echelon splits and ceded two minutes to many of her rivals.

She was then involved in a nasty crash on a descent before the final climb on stage 5, which ended her race, though she avoided serious injuries.

Realini is the second Lidl-Trek rider to leave the race after Ellen van Dijk also abandoned, struggling with lingering effects from a crash during the stage 1 team time trial, which Lidl-Trek won, putting Realini in the first leader's jersey.

Read more: Ellen van Dijk joins Norsgaard, Cavalli in Vuelta Femenina abandons after crash-affected start

Canyon-SRAM, meanwhile, are down to just four riders now, having lost Neve Bradbury to illness on the eve of the race.

The Vuelta Femenina continues on Friday with stage 6’s summit finish to La Laguna Negra.