On stage 14 of the Vuelta a España, Olympic road race champion Richard Calapaz was forced to retire due to fatigue in the intense heat.

The 28-year-old, who won the men's road race at the Tokyo Olympics in impressive fashion, entered the Vuelta a España as a favorite to win the overall. Last year he finished second behind Primoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma), but this time in Spain he was unable to show his true potential in the opening two weeks of the race.

Ineos Grenadier, who finished third in the Tour de France in July, struggled in the early stages of the Spanish Grand Tour and it became clear that he would be supporting either Adam Yates or Egan Bernal when the race opened.

Entering stage 14, an important mountain stage, in 49th place overall, Calapaz was already struggling on the first climb of the day. Kalapas rode at the tail end of the peloton, and by the time the main contenders reached the final climb of the stage, his race was almost over.

"I have tried my best every day to support the team in the Vuelta a España, but unfortunately I suffered from the heat and came up empty," Karapas said in a short statement released by the team on Sunday morning.

"I will now recover and reset my goals. I am very proud of what we have achieved this season and will use this to keep moving forward and fight hard to achieve more success."

"I am very proud of what we have achieved this season and I will use this to keep moving forward and fight hard to achieve more success.

In addition to his Tour de France podium and Olympic gold medal, Kalapas had a season to remember. He won a stage and the overall at the Tour de Suisse, and was one of only two riders in the Tour de France who seemed at least capable of beating breakaway leader and eventual winner Tadej Pogacar.

The Ineos Grenadiers head into stage 15, another important mountain stage, with Egan Bernal in 7th overall and Adam Yates in 8th overall. Both riders have been inconsistent so far in the race, and Roglic, in third place overall, is the favorite to win the Vuelta a España for the third year in a row.