Reigning Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) has suffered a broken collarbone and “several” broken ribs in a crash at Itzulia Basque Country, his team has revealed.
Meanwhile, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) broke his collarbone and shoulder blade in the same crash.
Vingegaard fell hard on a corner with under 40km to go on Thursday’s fourth stage, and lay at the roadside motionless. He was then put on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to hospital.
In a newly released update, Vingegaard’s team said he is “stable and conscious”.
“Examinations at the hospital have revealed that he has a broken collarbone and several broken ribs. He remains in hospital as a precaution. Thank you for all your messages,” the statement continued.
It is uncertain at this stage how long Vingegaard will be sidelined for. He was next due to race in early June at the Critérium du Dauphiné, where he planned to defend his title, before lining up to do the same at the Tour de France.
🇪🇸 #Itzulia2024Update on Jonas:It was a nasty crash, but fortunately he is stable and conscious. Examinations at the hospital have revealed that he has a broken collarbone and several broken ribs. He remains in hospital as a precaution. Thank you for all your messages. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/dPd2IbpIFPApril 4, 2024
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Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Evenepoel were also involved in the crash at Itzulia Basque Country, in which riders appeared to slide into a concrete drainage ditch.
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The pair both abandoned the race, like Vingegaard, but were shown to be conscious and talking. Evenepoel, having bunnyhopped over the ditch, was able to walk away, while Roglič later departed in a team car, dealing a thumbs up to the TV cameras.
“Remco will travel to Belgium on Friday, where he will undergo an operation on his collarbone, and further examination, at the hospital in Herentals,” a spokesperson for Soudal Quick-Step said.
With a fleet of ambulances needed to tend to the injuries, the race organisers took the decision to neutralise the stage. The win was contested by the six riders in the breakaway, with Intermarché-Wanty’s Louis Meintjes crossing the line first.
“It’s a victory that does not feel like it,” Meintjes said afterwards. “You want the race to be fair for everyone. I send my thoughts to all injured riders.”
Also involved in the crash were Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates), Sean Quinn, Alexander Cepeda (EF Education-EasyPost) and Natnael Tesfazion (Lidl-Trek).
“Vine is conscious and talking,” UAE Team Emirates confirmed, but added he “sustained a cervical and two thoracic spine vertebral body fractures.”
Tesfazion’s Lidl-Trek revealed the Eritrean suffered “numerous contusions and abrasions”, but no fractures. “Further treatment is currently underway, particularly on the right elbow, the most severe injury sustained by the rider,” his team said.
The Spanish race had already seen a handful of major withdrawals, with Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) and David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) among those abandoning earlier in the week.
