"I was shocked myself" - Tobias Johannessen remains in Tour de France despite Mont Ventoux scare

The summit of the Mont Ventoux was a place of chaos last afternoon, as right after crossing the finish line Jonas Vingegaard was taken down by a photographer. But only minutes later, fellow Scandinavian and GC rival Tobias Johannessen finished the stage and collapsed, bringing lots of fear over his health status in a climb that's previously claimed the life of pro cyclists.

Johannessen, eighth in the overall standings, had a bad day up the 21-kilometer long mountain and suffered through to the finish together with teammate Andreas Leknessund. He lost around 4:30 minutes to Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, a little less to his direct Top10 rivals, but evidently he was not looking his best and crossed the line holding on to his torso.

It was later revealed by DS Thor Hushovd that he had been suffering from stomach cramps, and after finishing the stage he collapsed. There was a lot of worry as the Norwegian rider had lost consciousness and had to be fed oxygen at the summit of the mountain, being taken away later to the race's medical area.

"I was shocked myself. I suffered on the climb, but I feel much better already. The Tour doctors checked everything thoroughly and everything looks fine," Johannessen shared in an interview this morning, as reported by Sporza. 

Luckily it was just a scare, without major consequences. Perhaps most impressive is the 25-years callback of the situation, without any apparent stress at the time over what happenen: "I had stomach cramps, but it was a really bad day. Losing consciousness? Oh well, it was fine and I felt much better quickly," he described.

There were concerns that he would have to abandon the race due to his health, naturally, but the decision was made to continue, having had a good night of rest and waking up strong in the morning. The team has done all the necessary check ups at the Avignon hospital and Johannessen will continue to fight for what is an important achievement for the team in the final days of the race. "I wasn't really worried, but the doctors had to check everything. They did that, and today I can start again knowing that everything is fine."