"I'm either going to drown in my own blood or die from bleeding out" - Jonas Vingegaard recalls genuine fear of death immediately after Basque Country crash
Cycling
For Jonas Vingegaard, 2024 is likely to remembered for a horrific crash at the Itzulia Basque Country that saw the Dane rushed into the back of an ambulance in an oxygen mask. Although he was ultimately able to make a full recovery and put up career best numbers at the Tour de France, immediately following the incident, Vingegaard admits he seriously feared dying.
In a brand new episode of DR programme, 'Sportssommeren 2024: Sekunder vi husker', which premieres this Saturday, Vingegaard reflects the very genuine fears he had as he lay on the side of the room in pain and unable to move. "I think I have some internal bleeding that means I'm either going to drown in my own blood or die from bleeding out," he recalls with brutal honesty. "So, yeah... That's when I kind of think it's over."
One of the most seriously affected in a crash that also left notable names such as Primoz Roglic, Remco Evenepoel and Jay Vine among others hospitalised, the concern for Vingegaard was incredibly severe in the immediate aftermath. "It was so bad that I thought I was going to die," he admits. "When I was lying there thinking that, I thought that if I survived, I would stop cycling. Now I'm sitting here, so I didn't do that. But you think about it."
For Vingegaard's wife, Trine Vingegaard Hansen there was also concern, made even worse by the fact that TV broadcasters kept repeating the images of the crash without providing any real updates to the conditions of the riders involved. "I just say 'fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck'," she recalls emotionally on the show.
As mentioned though, thankfully, Vingegaard was able to make a full recovery and actually posted career-best numbers at the 2024 Tour de France despite losing the Maillot Jaune to Tadej Pogacar.
An amazing, emotional comeback 🏆😪
— Velon CC (@VelonCC) November 24, 2024
Jonas Vingegaard out-sprinted Tadej Pogačar to win Stage 11 of the Tour de France, 98 days after suffering collarbone and rib fractures and a collapsed lung in a crash at Itzulia Basque Country. pic.twitter.com/4n7SgdDgWt
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And yet, it attracts people, even you. What’s more, it attracts the rival fanboys to fill cyberspace with endless pointless my hero is better than your hero blabla that’s all been heard before and only helps sell the site as an advertising platform. You know what the solution is but most can’t resist. No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- he is doing 460 watts for 35 min to achieve 7 w/kg with VO2 at 96 , just unreal numbers.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just do it, and put up with the consequencesJumpyjohn08-11-2026
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