The 2024 Itzulia Basque Country was brought to a terrifying stop on Thursday afternoon as a number of riders in the peloton crashed hard into a concrete ditch on a pacey descent.
Whilst the likes of Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic were forced to abandon, one of those who looked worst affected was two-time Tour de France winner, Jonas Vingegaard. The Dane left the race on a stretcher, heading into the back of an ambulance with an oxygen mask. Thankfully though, Team Visma | Lease a Bike DS, Frans Maassen has confirmed to Eurosport that Vingegaard is conscious and on his way to hospital for further medical checks.
Update
Team Visma | Lease a Bike have since officially announced an update to the condition of their leader. "It was a nasty crash, but fortunately he is stable and conscious," the announcement begins. "Examinations at the hospital have revealed that he has a broken collarbone and several broken ribs. He remains in hospital as a precaution. Thank you for all your messages."
Update 2
This Friday morning the Dutch team have issued another update on social media, confirming that besides the previously reported injuries, the Tour de France champion has also suffered a pulmonary contusion and a pneumothorax - more commonly known as a punctured lung. However, the team also assures that "he is stable and had a good night. He remains in hospital."
Horrible crash. Injuries could easily have been worse. Speedy recovery to all the riders.
A broken collarbone in adults heals within 6-12 weeks. I hope that Jonas, Remco and Primoz will be in Florence at the TDF start
Obviously it depends on the break, my comminuted collar bone fracture took close to five months.
Well, counting on 6 weeks is really asking for trouble if you ask me, it may have joined well by then but it certainly won’t have the strength to deal with all impacts smaller than the original so racing after 6 weeks is a no-no for me. In today’s world there is nothing preventing a rider being back in some form of stationary training after a few days though.
Bone injuries took months to heal, depending on the severety of his injuries. Hope this problem does not happening often😕