Jonas Vingegaard, the two-time reigning Tour de France champion, was badly injured in a multi-cyclist crash Thursday during a race in Spain.
Several other top names in the sport were also hurt as a number of competitors in the Itzulia Basque Country event skidded off the road at a sharp turn during a descent.
Vingegaard's team said that the 27-year-old Dane suffered a broken collarbone and "several" broken ribs. He was set to remain in a hospital as a precaution, said Team Visma | Lease a Bike, after abandoning the multistage race.
Also forced to abandon were Remco Evenepoel, who suffered a broken collarbone and right scapula in the incident, and Olympic gold medalist Primoz Roglic, the race leader who was said to have avoided any fractures. Vingegaard, Evenepoel and Roglic entered the day in second, third and sixth place, respectively, in the International Cycling Union's world rankings.
Vingegaard was shown on a race telecast being taken to an ambulance on a stretcher while wearing an oxygen mask and a neck brace. Other cyclists were initially strewn along the bend in the course in various degrees of physical distress.
An American cyclist, Sean Quinn, suffered a concussion in addition to a broken sternum and abrasions, according to his team. Others notably injured in the crash included Jay Vine, who suffered spinal and cervical fractures, and Steff Cras, who was listed with vertebral and rib fractures, as well as with "several hematomas."
Cyclists Alexander Cepeda, Quinten Hermans and Natnael Tesfatsion were also involved in the crash.
Thursday's stage, the fourth of six as the race winds through Basque country in northern Spain, was altered after the incident to remove a section involving a mountain pass. Ultimately, the rest of the stage was neutralized, with times recorded in it not counting toward the general classification. The six cyclists leading the peloton when the crash unfolded just behind them were allowed to compete for a sprint finish. Louis Meintjes won the stage, while Mattias Skjelmose rose to the top of the overall standings.
"It's a sad day. I wish all the guys who crashed all the best and wish them a fast recovery," Skjelmose said afterward. "My mind is with the guys who crashed, and right now I am not thinking about the leader's jersey."
It remains to be seen if Vingegaard, who came into the Basque tour off a win in the Tirreno-Adriatico race, can recover in time to try to win the Tour de France for a third year in a row. Cycling's top event will start in Italy on June 29 and end, for the first time in a century, in a locale other than Paris (the final stage this year will take place in Nice) because of the Olympics.
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