The days follow one another and are similar on the Tour of the Basque Country. The Spaniard Mikel Landa was forced to abandon this Friday, after another fall, the day after the very impressive one, which sent the favorites Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel to the hospital.
Team Soudal Quick-Step rider and teammate Gil Gelders left the race during the fifth stage, the Belgian team said, a day after their star Evenepoel fractured his shoulder blade and collarbone right, on the same test.
The first television images relayed by the Spanish media show Mikel Landa evacuated on a stretcher with a neck brace. The race organizers explained that there had been a “fall near Manaria in which several cyclists were involved”, on this stage between Vitoria-Gasteiz and Amorebieta-Etxano.
A pneumothorax for Vingegaard
Victims of a very heavy fall on Thursday, in a corner approached at full speed, the three main favorites for the final victory, Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic, all retired.
The Dane Vingegaard is the most affected, with a pneumothorax and a pulmonary contusion, in addition to fractures to the clavicle and ribs. The injuries call into question the Visma-Lease a Bike leader's hopes of winning a third consecutive Tour de France this summer, with the race starting June 29 in Florence, Italy.
Also read: Broken collarbone, pneumothorax, fear of cycling… Can Vingegaard prepare for the Tour calmly after his fall?
Primoz Roglic, at the top of the general classification of the Tour of the Basque Country since Monday, also left the race but came out better, without serious injury.