"Jonas had already warned us about that specific race and descent six months ago" - New details emerge over Vingegaard's horrible Itzulia Basque Country crash

Jonas Vingegaard crashed in a descent that he already knew and had warned about it's dangers. A terrible end to his Itzulia Basque Country, the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider was even aware that the road down Olaeta was of significant danger.

Markus Laerum, CEO of Safe Cycling - who provide safety consultations and support for cycling races - has talked to Sporza regarding the incident that marked stage 4. "It was a terrible image, but above all very frustrating to see happen. Especially because Jonas had already warned us about that specific race and descent six months ago," he reveals. "One of our discussion partners at the time was Jonas. He shared a lot of insights with us. About the general dangers of the race, but also about specific stages. And that's where the Basque Country and this descent came up."

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This descent was previously outlined as rather dangerous, despite not being overly technical. It was the amount of bumps in the road, presumably due to tree roots developing under the tarmac, that made this corner an hazard that many riders did not foresee. Footage of the crash from the motorbike shows clearly how several riders went over bumpy tarmac right as the road turned right. The organizers were also inquired about this patch of road's inclusion in this year's course, "but we never received an answer from them," Laerum shared.

"Do you now understand why it was so frustrating to watch the race today? Just shit. Crashes will always happen in the race, but we can still improve many things. The communication between the organizers and the riders, for example. Or the organizers themselves. There is chatter with each other, but nothing is really shared widely. We hope to be that missing megaphone."

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The crash left consequences that few could've ever seen coming, towards this race, the Ardennes and perhaps the Tour de France itself. Jonas Vingegaard suffered a fractured collarbone, several fractured ribs, a punctured lung and pulmonary contusion. This will see him off the bike for a significant amount of time.

"An early indication of danger is what the riders want most and tell us most often," Laerum concludes. "We often try to solve this with arrows in LED light or even auditory signals. Many riders said today, for example, that the road surface was dangerous and uneven. Isn't it strange that this is not indicated? It is often difficult as an organization to change your course, but you can tell your riders yourself we can help by warning them, of course. These are small things, but hopefully they can have a big impact in the future."

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