Less than six weeks after an absolutely horrible crash left her with a broken jaw, Ur\u0161ka \u017digart is back on the start line for the Tour de France Femmes.<\/p>\n
The AG Insurance-Soudal rider crashed heavily during the second stage of the Tour de Suisse on June 18 after hitting a speed bump in the closing kilometres. Although she managed to reach the finish, her injuries forced her out of the race. It was awful to watch. The Slovenian hit the bump\u2013which was in a terrible spot and many criticized the organizers for it\u2013and hit the deck face first. Thankfully the injuries weren\u2019t worse. Victoria\u2019s Sarah Van Dam (Visma-Lease A Bike) was riding alone to second spot during the race, also hit it\u2013but thankfully didn\u2019t crash. You can watch her save below.<\/p>\n
That same spot nearly took down van dam and she had no sprint pressure on her in second at the time. It seems to have been poorly visible and marked for a sudden bump pic.twitter.com\/Hjxpg1YVjC<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ross Tucker (@Scienceofsport) June 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n On the crash<\/p>\n Speaking ahead of the Tour, \u017digart said she remembers very little about the incident.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t remember much,\u201d she said to Sporza<\/a>. \u201cI just remember waking up on the ground and people asking if I knew where I was.\u201d<\/p>\n She later watched footage of the crash but found it difficult to see.<\/p>\n \u201cIt didn\u2019t look good,\u201d she said. \u201cI hope no family ever has to watch something like that on television.\u201d In fact, it was reported her family requested the media not post images or video of it, since it was disturbing.<\/a><\/p>\n Despite the horror crash<\/a>, \u017digart was fortunate to be able to avoid surgery. The fracture remained properly aligned.<\/p>\n \u201cI was very lucky,\u201d she said. \u201cI just had to be careful with how i moved around.\u201d<\/p>\n Her recovery progressed faster than expected. It allowed her to return to the bike within days before joining her teammates at altitude camp to prepare for the Tour.<\/p>\n On the Tour de France Femmes<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t say I\u2019m in the form of my life, but after that horrible crash I know I have to enjoy my life,\u201d \u017digart said. \u201cI\u2019m very grateful to be here, to be able to walk, to ride my bike and enjoy all of this.\u201d Sporza reported.<\/p>\n At this year\u2019s Tour, \u017digart\u2019s primary role will be supporting teammate Kim Le Court in the battle for the yellow jersey, although she hopes to make the most of racing on familiar roads near Nice. She and partner Tadej Poga\u010dar live in Monaco, so the French town is a cobblestone\u2019s throw away.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I get the freedom to race there, I\u2019d be very happy,\u201d she said. Zigart has had a strong 2026, including an impressive eight at the Giro d\u2019Italia, where her climbing skills gave her several top-10s on some tough stages.<\/p>\n Stage 1 of the Tour de France Femmes is in Lausanne, for a total of 138 km. Saturday\u2019s stage should favour the sprinters, unless a break can stay away. You can watch every stage on Flobikes.com<\/a>, and Canadian Cycling Magazine will have a report as soon as the day\u2019s race is over.<\/p>\n