Cycling: impressive fall of Vingegaard, Evenpoel and Roglic, headliners of the Tour of the Basque Country

Jonas Vingegaard was hospitalized after a serious fall which also involved several riders, including Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel, on Thursday during the 4th stage of the Tour of the Basque Country. All three men gave up.

The Dane, double winner of the Tour de France, was taken to hospital after spending long minutes in a lateral safety position on the side of the road. His Visma-Lease a bike team announced a little later that he was “conscious”. Vineegard, 27, was wearing a neck brace and a life support system when she was taken into the ambulance on a stretcher.

Among the eight injured runners, Australian Jay Vine was the one who remained motionless on the ground the longest. Taken care of by emergency services, he was also transported to hospital. Evenepoel and Roglic were also affected. They were able to get up but their teams, Soudal Quick-Step for the Belgian and Bora-Hansegrohe announced their withdrawal. Roglic, who was wearing the leader's jersey, left the scene in a car.

The accident occurred around thirty kilometers from the finish of this 4th stage which was to take the peloton from Echarri-Aranaz to Legutio. In a turn, going downhill, several riders skidded towards the shoulder and hit stone blocks and a concrete drain.

The organizers first suspended the stage. Then the six men who had escaped at the time of the fall were allowed to resume the race, in front of a neutralized peloton. The South African Louis Meintjes (Intermarché - Wanty) won the stage in Legutio, but the times will not be counted for the general classification.

This fall comes on top of a series of serious accidents that occurred this spring in cycling races. Last Wednesday, Wout Van Aert was notably caught in a collective fall in Across Flanders. Polytraumatized, the Belgian champion suffered burns to his back and especially fractures to his collarbone, ribs and sternum. He was unable to participate in the Tour of Flanders last weekend and will not be at the start of Paris-Roubaix on Sunday either. On Wednesday, Roglic and Ayuso had already been caught in a relatively violent fall in the Tour of the Basque Country, but they returned to the race.

Vingegaard was the outgoing winner in this hilly event which featured a royal field. It was notably the first direct opposition between the Dane and his former teammate Roglic this season. The two-time Tour winner was already in great shape, as shown by his crushing victories in the Gran Camino and Tirreno-Adriatico.

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