Two months after punctured lung, fractured ribs and vertebrae; Steff Cras returns to racing ahead of the Tour de France
Cycling
Steff Cras has no luck on injuries in recent months. The bad fortune seems to follow the Belgian since the 2022 Vuelta where he had to abandon the Spanish grand tour on the second day of the race. Cras also hit the deck hard during last year's Tour de France after an incident with a spectator on the side of the road.
Cras was then able to recover just in time to grab 11th overall at Vuelta a Espana two months later, but was certainly hoping for smoother run up to the Tour de France. Yet the infamours Itzulia Basque Country crash took out also the TotalEnergies rider, who, along with Jay Vine and Jonas Vingegaard suffered the worst consequences.
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With punctured lung, fractured ribs and vertebrae, it seemed like Cras would be sidelined for a while, and likely going to sit out the Tour de France as well. Two months down the road, and the 28-year-old is back in action at Tour of Slovenia (2.Pro), aiming to be ready for the Grand Depart in a little bit more than weeks from now.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- yeah... you're right...PogiSloFans04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
- A mindset that reminds me of Tim Declerq. I loved watching that guy just pound away the kilometers, hours at the front, holding an entire breakaway in check on his own. Bjerg seems like a similar guy. Curling, the team sport.RidesHills04-11-2026
- He will be lol, but he can still win on the climbs hahaawp04-11-2026
- I would love to have his inconsistency. How many wins this year? 2 TdF stages, a WC, a Euro championship, San Sebastian, multiple wins early year. Monument podiums. I'd take it. I don't think he has a chance in the TdF, but he is still amazing.mij04-11-2026
- He's not going to win the TdF. Maybe if they make every single stage a TT he could win. But I still believe Tadej would just sharpen his TT skills and win.mij04-11-2026
- You beat me to it. Should he make a full recovery (likely) and go light early in the year. One, two, three. Don't ask me, I don't give a damn. Should he be on a Feel-Like-He's-Fixin'-to-Die High.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- The deciding factor may be the (TBD) number of (any type of) kilometers without Pogacar.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- Unexplained chronic fatigue is an all too common bitch. The hard to find definitive answer may lie buried in gut mechanisms. A mystery of the deep.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- It's weird to say Evenepoel would be making a "serious mistake by adding the 2027 Giro d'Italia to his calendar, warning that such a decision could even be interpreted as a lack of confidence in his ability to win the Tour de France." It may well be a mistake but with so many commentators (of all sorts) continuously claiming almost everything Remco does as being a mistake, almost nobody should care what the pundits and the disparagers should say. His team may not want him to do the Giro, and that matters. But it's possibly or probably up to Remco to decide and it may not have to be decided on until a month or so ahead of the race. Yes , Remco is inconsistent much like the majority of the best riders but he's enjoying a period of not having been recently injured (or sick). Whatever he does he need not be concerned with critics who will second guess any perceived failure no matter what. I suspect he will have enough other races on his schedule so he won't be considering it. But the worst reason to not race it is because of what some will say - humorous that be.Yepperoni04-11-2026
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🔜 𝙏𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙙𝙚 𝙎𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚́𝙣𝙞𝙚 🇸🇮 En parallèle du Tour de Belgique, le Team sera aussi engagé sur le @TourOfSlovenia cette semaine 🔥 Au programme : 5 jours de compétition dans le paysage vallonné de la Slovénie ⛰️ Voici notre équipe 👇 #AllezTotalEnergies #TourOfSlovenia
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