"I was shocked myself" - Tobias Johannessen remains in Tour de France despite Mont Ventoux scare
Cycling
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."
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 3visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- LOL...it's a predetermined finish ! N one is 'clashing' at these exhibition crits!frieders307-11-2026
- Surely the UCI and the race organisers have a responsibility to ensure the best medical care is available to riders when incidents like this happen. All very well pushing for global expansion but not so good if riders lives are put at risk because medical support is not up to scratch.Andy12306-11-2026
- Well it clearly helps that this was Pidcock's own car, no?Occam06-11-2026
- The American performance at the World's road race was a masterclass in cycling tactics. If it wasn't McNulty, it might well have been Jorgensen or Simmons to take off and win in a solo break.Occam06-11-2026
- What a gimmick
Rafionain-Glas06-11-2026 - Thats only cause he rides for UAE. In any other team he would be captain in many races atleast. UAE is just to crazymiguel06-11-2026
- He seems to be the rare athlete whose passion and curiosity about life beyond his sport equals his extraordinary achievements in it. It would be great for him to risk less of that life. He seems very grateful and joyful for what he has already attained.
MarkFour06-11-2026 - As much as I admire and even revere Wout, the less I know about his backside the better.MidnightRider06-11-2026
- Ok, Walt 🤣... Vingegaard would be lucky to get on the poduim. He would not beat Seixas or Del Toro, let alone TP. Then there are the Americans...BD06-11-2026
- So, for starters. Cycling is a saturated, static/dying sport in traditional lands, it will not have resurgences like eg running occasionally does because of several obstacular (yes, I know that’s not a word but don’t make me point out the obvious at your expense) factors. Obviously, like almost everything involving money, there is a desire/need/advantage to growth and that can only come from (developing or just testing) new markets. For me, the WC is the obvious and best choice for several reasons, it comes at the end of the season so is less critical season risk wise, it is not a “pro” team race but nation based which makes integration of uncommon participation more natural. It is a vehicle for redistribution (one of a very limited number of available mechanisms to develop new markers fairly) that the fixed calendar doesn’t allow and it helps make budgets fairer over the long run (moving the whole circus to everywhere evens out everyone’s budget as opposed to having everyone always come to the same location.Jumpyjohn06-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment