July 9 (Reuters) – Norway’s Torstein Traeen is out of the Tour de France after suffering a concussion and multiple rib fractures in a crash on Thursday’s seventh stage, his Uno-X Mobility team said.
The rider crashed on the descent of the Col du Tourmalet during the race’s first major mountain test, colliding with the back of teammate Anders Halland Johannessen’s bike.
The 30-year-old Traeen was assessed by race medical staff in an ambulance before continuing and finishing the stage.
The withdrawal cut short a historic run for Traeen and his Norwegian team. He claimed the overall leader’s yellow jersey after the fourth stage and successfully defended it through the fifth stage,securing the first-ever days in yellow for the Uno-X Mobility team before losing the overall race lead to Tadej Pogacar during a punishing alpine stage won by the Slovenian.
“This is really not the ending we wanted for this yellow adventure,” Uno-X Mobility General Manager Thor Hushovd said in a statement. “The rider will now enter the team’s concussion protocol. Torstein has given the team a historic moment … but after further checks it was clear that he could not continue.”
Traeenhad indicated that he was injured right after crossing the finish line. “My head is hurting a bit and obviously my ribs are not super fine,” he told reporters.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Ken Ferris)