Jonas Vingegaard lay motionless on the ground next to a concrete ditch for minutes before he was 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. In a dramatic fall on the fourth stage of the Tour of the Basque Country on Thursday, the three cycling stars, all of whom want to fight for overall victory at the Tour de France in July, and other riders apparently sustained serious injuries.
The pictures of Tour champion Vingegaard caused the greatest concern. The Dane rushed into the ditch in the right-hand bend almost without braking. A few hours after the accident, his team Visma-Lease gave at least a slight all-clear: Vingegaard was “stable and conscious” and further examinations would be carried out in the hospital. These ultimately revealed a broken collarbone and several broken ribs, as the Dutch racing team said later in the evening Vingegaard remains in hospital “as a precautionary measure,” his team said. “It was a bad accident, but fortunately he is stable and conscious,” they said.
A day later, his team contacted us again. In addition to the broken bones, Vingegaard also suffered a bruised lung and a pneumothorax, as further examinations in the hospital revealed. Vingegaard had a quiet night and will remain under medical supervision until further notice.
Chain reaction in a right-hand bend
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. 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 during the descent, and his team later announced that he had not suffered any broken bones. The Slovenian was only involved in a crash on Wednesday. According to initial information from the organizers, Roglic suffered a broken collarbone, as did Evenepoel, who also broke his shoulder blade.
The Australian Jay Vine had a much harder time of it. The 28-year-old from Team UAE-Team Emirates 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.
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. Several ambulances were used. The race was then neutralized and the remaining drivers drove towards the finish at a slow pace. Many drivers use the Basque Country Tour as preparation for the big tours in the summer. Of the best tour riders in the world, only two-time Tour winner Tadej Pogacar was not at the start.
The search for the reasons
When looking for the reasons for the falls, not only possible road damage, but also the increasingly aggressive driving style in the field comes into focus. 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 FAZ. “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 cause of the serious accident was initially not clear. 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.
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”.
Kämna in intensive care
Cycling was once again overshadowed by a bad crash just around a week after the serious fall of Belgian star Wout van Aert. The Belgian suffered several broken ribs and a broken collarbone in the semi-classic Across Flanders at the end of March. Van Aert will be out for weeks.
In addition, a training accident involving German professional Lennard Kämna on Wednesday in Tenerife shocked the German Bora team. The 27-year-old from Bremen suffered numerous injuries, but is in a stable condition, his racing team said.
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“He is awake, responsive and able to communicate. (…) He is receiving very good care in the hospital in Tenerife and will be monitored in the intensive care unit in the coming days. Members of the family and the team are with him,” it said. According to the German racing team, an oncoming vehicle gave way to Kämna when turning.
