Several cyclists fell badly on the Tour of the Basque Country in Spain – including last year’s Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard. On the fourth stage, around 35 kilometers from the finish in Legutio, several riders fell in a right-hand bend and slipped into a concrete ditch. Vingegaard apparently got it the worst – he lay motionless on the ground for a long time and was finally transported to an ambulance on a stretcher.
Vingegaard is on the way to the hospital, his team said. According to sports director Frans Maassen, he is conscious. There is currently no more precise information about the severity of the injuries.
Natnael Tesfatsion from Eritrea was the first rider to slip, and then numerous other riders fell. Australian Jay Vine was also seriously injured. According to his team, he should also be conscious. The Belgian time trial world champion Remco Evenepoel held his collarbone and was also taken to hospital. The Slovenian Primož Roglič was limping on the road after the crash and was able to leave the scene in a team car. He gave a thumbs up as he left.
Roglič had already fallen the day before
The race was then partially neutralized: the leading group was supposed to determine a winner in the final sprint, while the peloton drove towards the finish at a slow pace. Time gaps from the stage do not count towards the overall ranking.
The overall leader, Roglič, was involved in a violent crash on the third stage on Wednesday. But he went back to the start bandaged.
The Tour of the Basque Country, which ends on Saturday in Eibar, is considered a preparation race for the Tour de France in the summer. Of the best tour riders in the world, only two-time Tour winner Tadej Pogačar was not at the start.
Several cyclists fell badly on the Tour of the Basque Country in Spain – including last year’s Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard. On the fourth stage, around 35 kilometers from the finish in Legutio, several riders fell in a right-hand bend and slipped into a concrete ditch. Vingegaard apparently got it the worst – he lay motionless on the ground for a long time and was finally transported to an ambulance on a stretcher.
Vingegaard is on the way to the hospital, his team said. According to sports director Frans Maassen, he is conscious. There is currently no more precise information about the severity of the injuries.