"It was carnage... I saw the man next to me die" - Five-time Grand Tour rider fighting for career after near-fatal 2026 crash
Cycling
Almost nine months after a horrific crash at the Tour of Oman, Damien Touze is still fighting to save his professional cycling career. The 30-year-old Frenchman has not raced since February and will leave Cofidis at the end of 2026, having survived life-threatening injuries and a hospital ordeal that included witnessing another patient die.
In a new account published by Velo Magazine, Touze has described agonising treatment involving a doctor wielding scissors, serious complications following emergency abdominal surgery and the conditions he encountered while being transferred between hospitals in Oman. He now faces the prospect of entering 2027 without a professional contract, despite his determination to return to racing.
"It was carnage": Touze describes horrifying hospital treatment in Oman
The accident happened on 10 February, during the fourth stage of the Tour of Oman. Travelling at approximately 60km/h, Touze lost control of his bike after hitting a raised road marker while reaching for his bottle, crashing heavily into a roadside barrier.
He suffered a ruptured spleen, a perforated intestine and extensive damage to his leg, including a fractured tibia and several torn knee ligaments. His abdominal injuries required emergency surgery, but complications soon followed.
During his initial hospitalisation in Sohar, Touze was in considerable pain as his abdomen became increasingly swollen and he developed a fever. The conditions in the hospitals were also troubling, with patients reportedly crowded into rooms alongside rubbish bins.
"I was in horrendous pain, my stomach was swollen and I was starting to develop a fever. By the second day, I still hadn't had anything to eat or drink," he recalled in the interview with Velo Magazine.
His account also included the death of another patient shortly after his arrival at one of the hospitals. "It was carnage. As soon as I arrived, I saw the man next to me die of a heart attack," Touze said.
Touze in action
Following surgery for his internal injuries, Touze was transferred to a hospital in Muscat, where his abdominal wound reportedly became severely swollen, with blood and pus collecting around the surgical area. According to the account in Velo Magazine, a doctor used a pair of scissors to repeatedly puncture the swollen wound. Touze described being cut into while fully conscious.
His wife Sofia had travelled to Oman to be at his bedside. Additional reporting by La Depeche describes how she secretly filmed the incident, having become concerned about the treatment her husband was receiving.
After approximately ten days in Oman, Touze was repatriated to Belgium, where further surgery established the extent of the complications involving his abdomen. "The abdominal wall had not been closed properly, leaving the intestines in contact with the skin, which caused the infection," Velo Magazine reported.
Further operations and months of rehabilitation followed. Touze also faced a lengthy recovery from the damage to his knee, ruling out any possibility of competing again during the 2026 season.
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"I know I've still got the engine": Touze's fight to save his cycling career
Before the accident, Touze had been preparing for his second season back at Cofidis, having returned to the French team in 2025 after four years with AG2R Citroen and Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale. His professional career began at Auber 93, where he emerged as a promising one-day racer, winning a stage of the Tour de l'Avenir in 2018 before twice finishing third at the French National Road Championships in 2019 and 2021.
He made his Tour de France debut in 2025, having previously competed in three editions of the Vuelta a Espana and one Giro d'Italia. The Frenchman completed the race at 29, adding a fifth Grand Tour to a career that had also included several seasons supporting more established leaders.
In October, Cofidis confirmed that his contract would not be renewed for 2027. Speaking to DirectVelo following the decision, Touze explained that he had initially approached rehabilitation with optimism, undergoing daily physiotherapy before progressing to strength training. As the months passed, however, the prospect of regaining his place in the professional peloton became increasingly uncertain.
Cofidis general manager Raphael Jeune acknowledged the severity of Touze's injuries but confirmed that the team would not offer him a new deal, leaving the Frenchman searching for an opportunity elsewhere. "Who's going to take me on?" Touze asked in his latest interview. "I'm aware that the circumstances aren't favourable. I don't want to go around begging people for a chance."
"I know I've still got the engine," he continued. "What I need is a team willing to take a gamble on me and give me the time I need to get back to my previous level."
Touze has ruled out returning to amateur racing simply to demonstrate that he can make a comeback. Speaking to DirectVelo in October, he pointed to his responsibilities away from cycling, including supporting his family and paying his mortgage, as reasons why such a move would not be realistic.
He has not announced his retirement, but no agreement with another professional team has been confirmed for 2027. His last competitive appearance remains the fourth stage of the Tour of Oman on 10 February, and with teams already assembling their squads for next season, the opportunity to resume his career is becoming increasingly difficult to secure.
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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- He has the Twin combo of being vulnerable to germs and prone to crashes on top of not heeding the complaints from his body. Thats just crash and burn career.abstractengineer05-11-2026
- You can't complete a journey without taking next step. He has to do that or start looking for another job. I hope he can get his act together. It's a make or break next season for him. I wish him well.Cyclingsbestfan05-11-2026
- does anyone really think he is taking a next step?mij05-11-2026
- in the team’s defense, Bernal is 29. when he won his first TdF people were talking about him winning a record # of GTs. Where would they be if that crash had never happened. I’m not saying he would compete with Tadej, but he did podium Strade Bianche, and certainly could have won a GT that Tadej wasn’t in.mij05-11-2026
- "c'mon Jonas!"wrsty05-11-2026
- I see I missed a lot during my boycott.Jumpyjohn05-11-2026
- What kind of sauce is on that rice? Ketchup?Kbd05-11-2026
- 18 broken bones. 78 crashes, among 30 rider per year is a lot. so for a rider over 15 seasons, they will break their bones 7-8 times and crash 38 times.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- i dont think he is ready ot win against the top 2 or the 2nd rung of evenepoel, del toro , Almeida. In the third week in the TDF he was very very defensive, no attacks. i think he was exhausted. right now he needs time not the brutal Giro or the intense TDF.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- Rota is an excellent rider to get in a break with because he always does his turnchapmanesque04-11-2026
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