"I can continue. I want to try to start tomorrow" - Wout van Aert refuses to give up Tour despite a nasty crash

For Wout van Aert, the eleventh stage of the Tour de France ended at X-ray check-up where any fractures were ruled out. Why? Because the Belgian all-rounder hit the deck quite hard while preparing position for Jonas Vingegaard. And while Visma | Lease a Bike can celebrate a victory at the end of the day, Van Aert has a bit of mixed feeling on a personal level.

"I didn't break anything. I had a bad fall, but I already knew that," he told Sporza after the checks. "The scans were taken to rule out that there was nothing wrong, because I had pain in my arm. It's a deep wound that's giving me a lot of trouble. It will take some time, but I can continue. I want to try to start tomorrow."

Van Aert eventually crossed the finish line half an hour after Vingegaard. "I was in pain on the descents and on the bumps, but I could cycle normally. I'll first see how it goes tomorrow. I have more injuries than the one on my arm, but that worried me the most," said the Belgian, who also scraped his leg badly and was wrapped up in bandages after the eleventh stage.

Tomorrow's stage to Villeneuve-sur-Lot would normally be an opportunity for Van Aert to throw himself into the mix for stage win in what is likely to be a sprint. However with these hindering injuries, it's not unlikely the 29-year-old will take a back seat to recover and fight on another day.