"There’s no time... What do you do in the Tour de France if a rider hits their head?" - Bjarne Riis doubts peloton will learn from Jonas Vingegaard's concussion scare

Jonas Vingegaard was forced to abandon Paris-Nice 2025 with a concussion. The Dane didn't immediately leave the race following his crash however, finishing the stage first. This has led to some criticism in regards to the lack of enforcement of concussion protocol, but in a sport where time is all-important, will teams ever be willing to spend valuable minutes at the roadside doing a check?

This topic was debated by Vingegaard's compatriot, 1996 Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis recently, in conversation with BT.dk. "It’s difficult. The problem with cycling is that riders crash from time to time, and there isn’t enough time to conduct a proper examination," begins the assessment of the 60-year-old. "We can easily point fingers at teams and race doctors and ask, 'How could you let him continue riding?' But if you take the time to conduct a thorough examination, the peloton is gone. It’s a dilemma, and I’m afraid it’s something we’ll have to live with. That’s how cycling is structured. There’s no time."

Whilst more and more sports are taking the long-term dangers of concussion increasingly seriously, cycling remains somewhat lacking in this regard. As mentioned already, a big reason for this is the fact that bike racing, especially in stage races, is so time oriented for those hoping to win the race. With every second being vital, teams might be reluctant to spend literal minutes stopped at the roadside conducting a concussion check, only for the rider to ultimately be fine, but now out of race-winning contention.

"When you’re a sports director and you’re in the car, your instinct is to rush to the rider, and then you focus on getting him back on the bike as quickly as possible. You assess the rider, how badly he’s hurt, whether he stays down, or how much pain he’s in," explains Riis. "Then you look at the bike, and the mechanic knows exactly what needs to be done. From here, the rider has to get back on the bike as quickly as possible and go. The rider has the same instinct: to get up and get going immediately."

"Sometimes, there will be so much at stake that it will be almost impossible to make the right decision," adds the experienced Dane. "A doctor might have a different perspective on this, but I see it from a logical point of view, and how things really are in a peloton. Honestly, what do you do in the Tour de France if a rider hits their head?"

Is it a realistic idea that Team Visma | Lease a Bike would willingly let Jonas Vingegaard lose minutes in the fight for the Maillot Jaune this summer whilst they do a concussion check, should he crash and bang his head again? Make no mistake, for the health of the rider, be that Vingegaard or anyone else in the peloton, that is 100% what should happen. With so much at stake though, the theory of the idea remains some way off the actual reality.

"You can hit your head without having a serious injury. Is that enough reason to quit if you're wearing the yellow jersey or hoping to take it the next day? Should you stop and withdraw every time you're in doubt?" Riis asks rhetorically in his conclusion. "Whew, that’s tough."