Cycling: Almost two days after the horrific mass fall on the fourth stage of the Tour of the Basque Country, there is more information. How are Jonas Vingegaard, Primoz Roglic, Remco Evenepoel and the other riders who fell?
All-clear for Roglic, concern for Vingegaard
Hardly any mass crash has affected as many top riders in recent years as the accident on the fourth stage of the Tour of the Basque Country. With jonas vingegaard (Visma – LaB), Primois Roglic (Bora – hansgrohe) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal – Quick-Step), three co-favorites to win the tour had to give up the race with injuries. Only the Slovenian has the all-clear. Roglic was not diagnosed with any broken bones. His downtime will therefore be limited. The Belgian former world champion Evenepoel, on the other hand, broke his collarbone - as did his teammate Mikel Landa (Soudal – Quick-Step), which fell just a day later. Vingegaard got it even worse. The two-time tour winner not only broke his collarbone and numerous ribs. As was discovered a little later, the Dane also suffered a bruised lung and a pneumothorax. The accumulation of air between the lungs and the chest wall resulted in a lung collapse. A quick recovery seems impossible.
Update on Jonas:
Further examination in the hospital revealed that he also suffered a pulmonary contusion and pneumothorax.
He is stable and had a good night. He remains in hospital.— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) April 5, 2024
Vine & Cras had it worse
The live images of the crash were particularly worrying because some riders remained motionless on the ground for several minutes. Fortunately, the worst fears - such as that a driver's life could be in danger - were not confirmed. Nevertheless, two drivers were hit particularly badly. Jay Vine (UAE) suffered a cervical vertebra fracture and two vertebral fractures in the thoracic spine. Steff Cras (TotalEnergies) is still in the hospital due to broken ribs and fractures of several spinal vertebrae, a pneumothorax, hematomas and many skin abrasions. A quick return to professional cycling is therefore out of the question for the Australian and Belgian. If the healing progresses well, they will also be able to continue their careers. Sean Quinn (EF Education – EasyPost) had to leave the race due to a concussion and a broken sternum. teammate Alexander Cepeda (EF Education – EasyPost) also fell, but was able to finish the stage.
The novelties of Steff:
Après des exams plus poussés, @SteffCras Souffre d'un pneumothorax à droite, de plusieurs fractures costales associées et deux fractures vertébrales dorsales, en plus de plusieurs hematomes, plaies et dermabrasions. (1/2)#Itzulia2024 pic.twitter.com/Ha8wHRFsPt
— Team TotalEnergies (@TeamTotalEnrg) April 4, 2024