Héctor Sáez (Caja Rural Seguros RGA) finished stage 9 of the Vuelta a España, despite damaging his helmet in a crash caused by a fallen bike.

The Spaniard hit the deck with around 100km remaining on Thursday in a crash that also involved eventual stage winner Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe).

Television cameras did not capture the crash itself, but quickly focused on the Caja Rural rider lying on his back on the pavement. His helmet was visibly broken, and he was in such bad shape that it appeared his Vuelta was over.

But the 26-year-old eventually picked himself up, restarted, and returned to the peloton with a wry smile on his face. He completed the remaining 65 km and finished the stage in 117th place.

"The bad news of the day was that Héctor Sáez had a big crash when he took a bidon in the middle of the road. His helmet prevented the worst," said the Caja Rural team.

"The Albacete rider was able to get back on the road and finish the day, suffering from an abrasion on his shoulder. We will monitor the progress in the future."

Later, the team director swung the broken helmet out of the team car window. While it was clear that this saved the rider from more serious injuries, it also raised questions about whether a rider who suffered such an impact to the head was fit to continue racing.

The dangers of head trauma in cycling were again in the spotlight this summer when Romain Bardet hit his head in a crash at the Tour de France and continued to ride, but later abandoned the race due to concussion.

Caja Rural did not confirm whether Saez had been checked for concussion. At the time of the crash, a race doctor attended to him, removed his helmet, and protected his neck. After another minute or so, he was given a new helmet and bike and continued on to the finish.