Sport Serious mass fall
Tour de France winner with multiple broken bones but conscious
As of: 9:11 a.m. | Reading time: 4 minutes
Basque Country tour
Quelle: picture alliance/Roth/CV
After a bad crash during the Tour of the Basque Country, several top riders had to go to hospital. Tour de France winner Vingegaard is among those seriously injured. Now there are the first diagnoses. When looking for the reasons, driving style also comes into focus.
Jonas Vingegaard lay motionless on the ground next to a concrete ditch for minutes before being taken on a stretcher to an ambulance. A few meters away, Remco Evenepoel was holding his collarbone and Primoz Roglic was limping across the asphalt with his face contorted in pain. There were dramatic images after a crash on the fourth stage of the Tour of the Basque Country on Thursday. Three cycling stars, all of whom want to fight for overall victory at the Tour de France in July, have apparently suffered serious injuries, along with other riders.
What caused the greatest concern were the images of Tour champion Vingegaard, who drove almost unbraked into the ditch in a right-hand bend. In the evening, his Visma team announced the test results from the hospital. The 27-year-old Dane then suffered a broken collarbone and several broken ribs. He remains in the hospital for observation as a precaution, the team said on X, the former Twitter. “It was a serious accident, but fortunately he is stable and conscious,” it said.
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Stage winner at Tour de France
Evenepoel was also taken to the hospital. The Belgian time trial world champion initially maneuvered around the ditch cleverly, but then fell on the grass. Evenepoel broke his collarbone. As his racing team Soudal Quick-Step announced, the Belgian also suffered a fracture of his shoulder blade. He will return to Belgium this Friday and undergo an operation there. Further medical examinations would also be carried out in the hospital in Herentals.
Giro winner Roglic, who was wearing the yellow jersey, was at least able to leave the scene of the accident in the team car of the German Bora-hansgrohe racing team. He gave a thumbs up as he left. The Slovenian was only involved in a crash on Wednesday.
Several ambulances at the scene of the accident
The crash occurred around 35 kilometers from the finish in Legutio in a right-hand bend. Natnael Tesfatsion from Eritrea was the first rider to slip, then around a dozen other riders fell. The Eritrean was also taken to a hospital. His team said there were numerous bruises and abrasions, but initially no broken bones or a concussion.
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In addition to Vingegaard and the top drivers, the Australian Jay Vine also had it worse. The professional cyclist was conscious, his UAE team said. The 28-year-old was diagnosed with a cervical vertebra fracture and two fractures of the thoracic spine. “Fortunately, no neurological problems have occurred and there are no other serious injuries or skull injuries,” the team said in a statement. Vine will remain in the hospital for neurological observation and is awaiting orthopedic spinal evaluation and further treatment.
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The race was then neutralized and the remaining drivers drove towards the finish at a slow pace. The remaining peloton was given the freedom to fight for the stage win. However, this had no influence on the overall ranking. The South African Luis Meintjes secured the stage success, which was insignificant for the ranking.
Many drivers use the Basque Country Tour as preparation for the big tours in the summer. Of the best, only the two-time Tour winner Tadej Pogacar was not at the start.
Possible reasons: road damage and driving style
The cause of the serious accident had not been clarified as of Thursday evening. When looking for the reasons, not only possible road damage but also the increasingly aggressive driving style in the field comes into focus. This year the route was particularly easy, but there were still many falls, said the Spanish Tour de France stage winner Pello Bilbao after reaching the finish. This should give cyclists pause as they may be the ones causing the danger. “We have to rethink the way we compete a little,” explained the 34-year-old.
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As in football, very, very young riders would come into the WorldTour directly from the junior classes and want to prove themselves immediately, said German professional cyclist Nils Politt in an interview with the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (Friday). “In general, the stress level is significantly higher. The races are starting faster and earlier,” said the 30-year-old from Team UAE about the general development in cycling before the classic Paris-Roubaix on Sunday.
The newspaper “Mundo Deportivo” and the Spanish professional cyclist Mikel Bizkarra also cited possible road damage as the cause of the devastating accident. There was a gully in the area of the curve, the newspaper wrote. Bizkarra, who drove the Tour of Catalonia in March, pointed out that there were many tree roots under the road on this route that could not be seen. You don’t recognize them at first glance, and if you don’t have a good grip on the handlebars, it’s “easy to fly into the air,” said the 34-year-old “Diario AS”.
