"Suddenly a rider came from behind" - UAE and Tudor explain how Mathys Rondel crashed into team car windshield
Cycling
The first days of the Giro d'Italia have been negatively marked by the crashes; and on stage 5 one happened away from TV cameras which caused a great deal of concern. Mathys Rondel crashed into the UAE Team Emirates - XRG car, breaking the read windshield. However luckily, the Tudor Pro Cycling Team rider was uninjured from it. The incident has now been fully explained.
Following the stage, Tudor DS Matteo Tosatto confirmed to In de Leiderstrui that the Frenchman was not injured by the incident. “Mathys is ok. I was not there myself, but from what I understood it happened just after a descent. Mathys was coming back after a flat tyre. You arrive there frozen, and then suddenly a car stops in front of you...”
It was a chaotic day, with several riders coming down in the wet descents that marked the Giro's first mountain stage. Igor Arrieta and Afonso Eulálio, first and second on stage - and now GC too - both crashed separately in the final 15 kilometers.
At the start of the day however, the race broadcast revealed a broken rear windshield in the UAE team car. Later it was confirmed that Rondel was the rider that crashed into it.
Tosatto, a former pro himself who understands the situation from both sides, did not attribute the blame to anyone in the incident. “Mathys was right behind the car because he was coming back. It is a typical race situation, the kind you see so often. It is nobody’s fault".
Read also
Matxin in the car that Rondel collided with
As it turned out, it was none other than Joxean Matxin at the wheel of the affected UAE car. Speaking to the Dutch news outlet, the manager at UAE detailed the collision from his point of view.
“It was a complicated day for everyone. At the moment we stopped the car on the right, because a Lidl-Trek car had stopped in front of us, it was not only raining but also hailing. We were waiting until we could move again, and then suddenly a rider came from behind.”
The incident happened on a climb and at slow speeds, luckily reducing the consequences from the fall. There was a moment of consequence assessment afterwards, in which it was explained that the French climber only hit the glass with his helmet, causing it to break.
Rondel is one of Tudor's leaders for the 2026 Giro d'Italia
“We immediately heard that he was ok, and Tosatto confirmed that too. We asked about him straight away. Luckily it was not at a high speed. I think around 25 kilometres per hour,” Matxin explained.
“And I think our window broke because he hit it with his helmet. He did not go through the window. The most important thing is that he is ok.”
Rondel is starting stage 6 of the Giro still within GC contention, in 21st place - tied in time with the likes of Jonas Vingegaard and his own leader Michael Storer.
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 1visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- When Thomas gets the bullet from INEOS he can get a job as a comedian.
Senna196013-11-2026 - Right on. The more the merrier.Occam13-11-2026
- Remember, Del Toro struggled in this Tour. He is great, no doubt about that, but comparing him to a four time gt winner is absurd at this point. He has the potential. We'll have to see how he develops.awp13-11-2026
- what did Jonas gift and to whom? just curious, haven’t heard about this.mij13-11-2026
- You don't gift grand tours as it has come to light that Jonas has come to regret doing such.
Front24213-11-2026 - Exactly you said it urslf - he outclimbed del toro by 19 sec. 19SEC and you say hes alot better than del toro still lol? And can also do the same where del toro did that to jonas even and del toro dauphine numbers better than jonas all year so why this hard whats the issue its super easy stuff - del toro wasnt that before. Then factor in both their trajectory the last years and the answer is self explonatory like i said. Nothing against jonas like many do but the typing is no the wall and so stupidly easy as its so self explanatory now. Have a good daymiguel13-11-2026
- Dirty ex doperFront24213-11-2026
- As far as points go they need to take a page or ten out of the Astana playbook!Lozza13-11-2026
- Ah, seems he’s been busy elsewhere! 😆Lozza13-11-2026
- Where is he when you need him!? Wake up man! You’re missing an opportunity!Lozza13-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment