2024-04-05 09:56:28
The series of falls among prominent cyclists does not stop: after Wout van Aert a few days ago, three Tour de France favorites have now been hit.
The three contenders for victory in the Tour de France, Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Primož Roglič, were involved in a dramatic crash at the Tour of the Basque Country. 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.
Apparently the worst hit was the Danish Tour winner Vingegaard, who lay motionless on the ground for a long time and was finally transported to an ambulance on a stretcher. As his racing team Visma-Lease a Bike announced, the Dane suffered a broken collarbone and several broken ribs.
The Belgian time trial world champion Evenepoel also held his collarbone, the Slovenian Roglič from the German Bora-hansgrohe team limped off the road after the crash. Natnael Tesfatsion from Eritrea was the first rider to slip, then a dozen other riders fell. The race was subsequently neutralized. Several ambulances were at the scene of the accident.
Roglič, who was wearing the overall first yellow jersey, was involved in a violent crash on the third stage just the day before. But he went back to the start bandaged. The Tour of the Basque Country, which ends on Saturday in Eibar, is seen by Vingegaard and Co. as a preparation race for the Tour de France in the summer.
Last week, the Belgian all-rounder Wout van Aert had a serious fall in the semi-classic Dwars door Vlaanderen and was subsequently operated on. Therefore, the three-time cross world champion from the Visma-Lease a Bike team had to cancel his start in the prestigious Tour of Flanders on Easter Sunday.
Accordingly, a new safety discussion has developed in the cycling scene in recent days. This is likely to gain further momentum after the events in the Basque Country.