Reigning Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard in hospital following horror crash
By Matias Grez, CNN
(CNN) — Defending Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard is in hospital after suffering a horror crash during stage four of the Tour of the Basque Country on Thursday.
His cycling team, Team Visma, said that Vingegaard suffered a broken collarbone, several broken ribs, a pulmonary contusion and pneumothorax, or collapsed lung.
“He is stable and had a good night,” the team added. “He remains in hospital.”
Vingegaard’s injury puts his Tour de France title defense in jeopardy, with the race starting earlier this year on June 29 due to the Paris Olympics.
The crash took place around 40 kilometers from the end of the stage as the riders came around a right turn on a descent, with fellow Grand Tour winners Primož Roglič and Remco Evenepoel also involved.
Television footage showed Vingegaard being taken away on a stretcher and put into an ambulance.
Evenepoel, the 2022 Vuelta a España winner, also suffered a fractured collarbone, his Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team said in a statement, as well as a fractured right shoulder blade.
“Obviously my plans for the short [near] future will change, but I hope and think my longterm goals will not change,” Evenepoel said in a video released by his team on X.
“Everything should be okay with that. Then I need to thank all of the doctors, and also the doctor of the team, that took care of me in the last couple of hours and, of course, I want to wish all of the riders that were involved in the crash all the best, a speedy recovery and I hope to see you all soon on the road again.”
Quick-Step said Evenepoel will travel to Belgium on Friday for surgery on his collarbone.
Other injuries sustained in the crash include a cervical and two thoracic spine vertebral body fractures for Team Emirates rider Jay Vine and a concussion and fractured sternum for EF Pro Cycling’s Sean Quinn.
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