A sad sight today at the Tour de France. Jonas Vingegaard crashed out of the race during Sunday’s stage, going down with Isaac del Toro on the descent of the penultimate climb. The two-time winner has never before abandoned a Grand Tour.
Vingegaard’s wheel slipped out and he went down with teammate Sepp Kuss. Race leader Tadej Pogačar barely avoided the crash.
Stage 15 crash
Stage 15 finished atop the HC climb of Plateau de Solaison, but Vingegaard never made it there. The main group briefly eased up to see if the Dane could rejoin, but once it became clear he was unable to continue, the race carried on. After the race, Visma-Lease a Bike gave a medical update.
“It is devastating that Jonas has had to leave the Tour de France,” Visma-Lease a Bike directeur sportfit Marc Reef said. “It was quickly clear that Jonas could not continue. He was in a lot of pain. We are deeply with him.”
The team later confirmed Vingegaard suffered a broken collarbone and multiple abrasions. Because of the severity of the fracture, he will undergo surgery in the coming days.
Vingegaard before the abdandonment
Before the crash, Vingegaard sat second overall, four and a half minutes behind Tadej Pogačar. Visma believed the stage suited the Dane, with Bruno Armirail and Victor Campenaerts making the early break before dropping back to help set the pace for the GC group on the final climbs.
“The entire stage went according to plan,” Reef said. “We had two riders in the breakaway and controlled the peloton. Jonas felt extremely good and we wanted to go for the victory today. Unfortunately, cycling can be very cruel at times.”
Meanwhile, yellow jersey, rival and friend, Pogacar wondered if a lack of sleep could have contributed to the bad luck. “I was thinking: today we had doping control early in the morning, in Jonas’ case at 2 a.m. That may also be a reason. After a night where your sleep is ruined, you may be less focused on the descent. That may be linked in a way, I don’t know.”
Monday is a rest day, and the Tour continues without Vingegaard on Tuesday with an ITT–and Stage 15 winner, Remco Evenepoel as a strong favourite.