"He was a bit shaken" - Lotto-Intermarché rider withdrawn from Vuelta after finishing stage 7 with a collapsed lung
CyclingSunday, 30 August 2026 at 06:00
Luca Van Boven's second Grand Tour participation was cut short due to a freak accident during opening phases of 2026 Vuelta a Espana's seventh stage. A sudden movement by XDS Astana rider Alessandro Romele sent Van Boven onto a building at the side of the road, and on the ground.
Despite a gruesome pain, the 26-year-old reached the finish line. But further examinations ruled out his start the following morning. "He is not doing well. He is in the hospital, but given the circumstances, he is doing okay," Lotto-Intermarché sports director Mario Aerts told Sporza afterwards.
Romele was awarded a yellow card by the race jury for causing the incident, but Aerts doesn't hold Van Boven's crash against the young Italian who couldn't have been aware of the rider behind him as he was avoiding a speed bump while at the back of the peloton.
"He doesn't have eyes in the back of his head and just swerved when coming off that speed bump. It was simply a very unfortunate racing incident. Romele already came to our car during the race to express his remorse."
Outstanding resilience
What remains outstanding is Van Boven's strong will to finish the Grand Tour at all cost, even with a collapsed lung. Of course, he couldn't know his diagnosis in the middle of a stage. Van Boven arrived two minutes behind everyone else, but safely within time limit.
He continued even though sports director Aerts indicated to him that nobody would blame him if he stopped with what was suspected to have been at the very least a rib injury. "At that moment, you cannot be certain that it is a collapsed lung. The Vuelta doctor probably also thought it involved broken ribs. We communicated to Luca that if he was in too much pain, he had to stop."
Despite everything, the unfortunate rider was already able to put his grief into perspective somewhat. "He was a bit shaken, but he said a few times that it’s part of the job," Aerts concluded.
Read also
More bad lack encountered Lotto-Intermarché on the course of stage 8, already without Luca Van Boven in the race. First, Lars Craps was involved in one of the crashes throughout the stages, but escaped with just few scratches. Later, sprinter Steffen De Schuyteneer was involved in the bunch sprint crash, but seemingly escaped any serious injuries as well, the team reported after the stage finished.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- LOL....Mouse is going to be hiding for a long time now !frieders330-08-2026
- It was devastating to see Tadej so badly injured after this freak accident. Obviously, his injuries will take a long time to heal and this is most likely his last race of 2026. But on the positive side, it could have been so much worse. I'm actually surprised that he wasn't stretchered off on site with a neck brace, instead of being allowed to walk to the ambulance on his own, after clearly suffering a head injury. I hope and pray for him to make a full recovery and come back stronger in 2027.Cooldude30-08-2026
- I like stats, as is clear to anyone who regularly reads my posts. Three monuments and a grand tour, with 22 wins including two major GC races and Strade Bianchi, makes for one of the best seasons any rider has ever had. It’s sad that it has to end so soon. May have a speedy and healthy recovery.RidesHills30-08-2026
- looking at PCS, he's now got nothing on his upcoming program, WC, CC, IL all removed.wrsty30-08-2026
- A random accident causes that much damage?! Wow. Vertebrae fractures are rare, and this might be his season.RidesHills30-08-2026
- Sexais at home on the sofa like "yes! i'm still in with a chance"wrsty30-08-2026
- Can someone please do a welfare check on Mou as he's probably cried all the water out of his body, hugging his Pogi waifu pillowwrsty30-08-2026
- Coming from an ex-yankee ! You just confirm your clown status!frieders330-08-2026
- This dude truly mailed in...for a moment i thought he made a mistake meaning to write Felix Gall o Ricitello (not that he is in contention) but then again near the end of the article...uff!...this is just deplorable journalism.Zone0Rider30-08-2026
- alternative truths reach professional cycling 🤦Ketterechts29-08-2026
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