David Dekker escapes serious injury in terrifying crash

Jumbo-Visma were looking to set up their sprinter for the win today, but that ambition ended when on the technical final descent of today's Valenciana stage, the Dutchman steered off-road in a hairpin turn.

"Considering what happened in the decent today, I feel okay. No bad injuries luckily. Thank you for all the messages," Dekker wrote on his Twitter account.

After a strong neo-pro season last year where, between other results, he finished runner-up twice at the UAE Tour and won the points classification, and the departure of Dylan Groenewegen, Jumbo-Visma gotten themselves in a position where they can support the young rider more often. He came with a leading role to the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana as many of the team's stars are still in a preparation phase, and he was looking to seize the opportunity.

He started off the day as one of the main contenders for the stage win. In the descent of the final ascent of the day to Callcanto he found himself in the middle of the pack, when on a tricky right-hander several riders in front of him miscalculated the speed they could take to the corner. An Euskaltel - Euskadi took a bad crash in front of him and Dekker couldn't break in time and tumbled into a small wooded area with big gradients. After some minutes stress became apparent but eventually he walked out with the bike on hand and by his own foot, assuring the worst scenario did not come true.

In the end, compatriot Fabio Jakobsen took the stage win. As for Dekker, team has reported he got some "scrapes and bruises" but other than that no injury was reported. He did not complete the stage into Torrent and it is unclear when his return to competition will be.