Late in the evening on Wednesday, the TotalEnergies team announced the retirement, after the fifth stage, of one of its riders, Daniel Oss, suffering from a fractured cervical vertebra.
The Italian will have to be immobilized for several weeks after suffering a terrible fall during the cobblestone stage in the North.
In view of the extremely violent shock that the runner suffered, the state of health of this specialist in classics is almost reassuring.
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As the race got tougher and the peloton began to scatter on the cobbles to the rhythm of punctures, mechanical problems and falls, Oss tried, like many riders, to avoid the most brittle part of the road by taking the borders.
A risk-taking that turned into a disaster when the Transalpine veered slightly to the right of the road, initially destabilized by the presence of a spectator who was already too advanced.
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Partially losing control of his bike, Oss then hit another spectator head-on just two meters away, helmet against face, busy taking a photo.
In a frightening crash, the runner of the French formation fell violently to the ground, dragging in his fall the Austrian Michael Gogl (Alpecin) who was following him very closely.
The latter, gave up before being transported to the hospital where a fracture of the clavicle and the iliac bone were diagnosed.
Shocked, Oss was able to set off again and even reach the finish, but the exams revealed a fracture forcing him to put an end to his adventure on the 2022 Tour.
