"In a moment like that there isn’t much more to say" - Hopelessness on the Visma camp as Jonas Vingegaard leaves Tour de France
CyclingSunday, 19 July 2026 at 18:21
Stage 15 of the Tour de France produced one of the toughest images of this edition as Jonas Vingegaard abandoned after a heavy crash on a technical section. After the stage, Team Visma | Lease a Bike sports director Marc Reef faced the media to detail the Dane’s condition and lament an incident that struck just when the team had everything set to chase the stage win.
A crash at the worst possible time
The Dutch team had been at the head of the peloton for a long time and looked to be preparing an attack on the Plateau de Solaison for the Danish rider. But the plan abruptly came to an end with 20 kilometers to go.
Reef explained the situation was grim from the outset and that they quickly understood the two-time Tour winner would not be able to continue.
“We went through a corner and I didn’t get a good TV picture either. When we arrived with the car he was lying on the ground. It’s a real shame this happened and that we had to abandon.”
The sports director confirmed Vingegaard was taken immediately for medical checks. “He’s now going to an X-ray truck to see exactly what his situation is.”
Vingegaard crashed and hit a sidewalk, which looked to immediately affect his shoulder in a bad manner. Reef also described the minutes after the crash and said the rider could only express the pain he was feeling.
Aftermath of Jonas Vingegaard's Tour de France-ending crash
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“Of course, you tell him you’re very sorry about the situation. He was in a lot of pain at that moment and it became pretty clear very quickly that he couldn’t go on. He told me he was hurt, but in a moment like that there isn’t much more to say. They loaded him into the ambulance and he left.”
The most frustrating part for Visma was that, as Reef explained, the team was executing to perfection the plan designed to try to beat Tadej Pogacar on the final climb.
Vingegaard was targeting the stage
“Today we had a big objective, to try to win the stage. Everything was going according to plan until the crash. We had two riders up the road, the situation completely under control, and Jonas was feeling really, really good.”
The Dutchman stressed the Dane’s sensations were very positive and that they fully trusted his chances before the incident.
“The riders who had to work on the climb were also very good. The gap was controlled and we were ready to launch our attack on the final ascent.”
The consequences of the fall will be revealed later on today.
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.
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- Most recently on Stage 2.Hills3320-07-2026
- The tour organizers screw up again. It was a fast part of the course, a sudden turn. No warning. Only the first few riders would have been able to know it was coming . At this point I believe they want crashes to happencaptmike20-07-2026
- Shhhh, let people have fun 😉 You have fun too
KerisVroom20-07-2026 - I think, like with most other institutions, you’ll find the total costs outweigh the fine. Apart from US lawsuits, corrupt inofficial authorities and maybe Swiss speeding fines to the very rich, it’s usually the general population or if there is a victim, them, that pays the real price, the punishment is mostly arbitrary and the whole implementation often costs more than the fine. This will be especially true if the judge is Swiss with a Swiss salary, swiss paperwork to write up and Swiss rights to contest to have to deal with. It’s actually a no-brainier, 2-3 500 fines a day doesn’t even cover the hours.Mistermaumau20-07-2026
- Yeah, but we’re definitely not all the same there.Mistermaumau20-07-2026
- And why would good reasons be made public so easily or before findings lead to conclusions? People would go apeshyt if controllers started to release statements why they are turning up at 2am. With their knowledge of past practices, it is hardly unexpected this happens from time to time and sorry, it’s been a real long time since it happened, it’s also been a REAL long time since anyone of interest was caught, that is increasing pressure to be seen to be actually checking. Typical doping checks have been so integrated into the routines that people have probably forgotten they exist, new spectators might not even realise they have them.Mistermaumau20-07-2026
- It’s not that simple. This was part of the whole dilemma of deciding to do the Tour or not. Once you’ve accepted you’ve committed to do media work and you have to be very careful about how, when and to who you decide to opt out. The media makes you but can also break you and it’s pretty risky to set your own rules before you’re established enough to negotiate with many of them. Also, in this day and age you’re also kind of obliged to go in order to control the narrative. If you don’t show up you’re basically giving everyone a blank check to write whatever they feel like and that can increase external pressure even more than doing post-race com work. Best thing is to prepare riders on how to deal with it and cope. Someone who can’t has a handicap to reach the top.Mistermaumau20-07-2026
- It would be interesting to add up the total value of the fines after the tour is finished. I think the amount the UCI make from fines would be surprisingCyclingsbestfan20-07-2026
- I don't think it makes a difference on Seixas being a French rider, it makes a difference for the test-times tho if anyone could've been tested..
leedorney20-07-2026 - With only a few hours sleep I would be as a zombie on the bike and the probability to hit the deck hard would be massive.JoostMehrtens20-07-2026
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