Alberto Contador to miss Vuelta a Espana

Alberto Contador has conceded defeat in his battle to be fit for the Vuelta a Espana in September.

The 31-year-old, who withdrew from the Tour de France after crashing on stage 10, has admitted that his recovery is taking longer than expected.

"Bad day. The healing of the wound is getting complicated . . . Goodbye to the Vuelta," the Tinkoff-Saxo rider wrote on Twitter today.

Contador, who was looking to claim a third Tour victory this year, suffered a shinbone fracture on the stage from Mulhouse to La Planche des Belles Filles.