Mass crashes occurred in the final kilometre of both the Vuelta a Burgos and Tour of Poland today, with the Spanish race affected by a speed bump following a fast descent, while a tight, high-speed turn marred the conclusion of the Polish race.
At the Vuelta a Burgos, Jumbo-Visma were at the front of the pack heading into the final 700 metres, looking to lead out the sprint for David Dekker.
However, after a short descent and the pace ever-increasing, the Dutchman hit a speed bump and lost control of his bike, causing a mass pile up behind him. David Ballerini (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) fell hard, unable to avoid the sprawling Dekker, while multiple riders headed into the roadside barriers to take avoiding action as best they could.
Ballerini's fall caused AG2R Citroën rider Damien Touzé to be thrown over the barriers and into the spectators. Fortunately, no one was stood in the path of the oncoming rider. The Frenchman was treated by race medical support. His situation will be updated when news is released.
Behind, the rest of the bunch had to slam on the brakes, leaving the Jumbo-Visma trio of Timo Roosen, Edoardo Affini and Chris Harper to ride towards the line unchallenged. They had just managed to avoid the crash, allowing Roosen to take the stage two win.
Meanwhile, at the Tour of Poland, Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) won stage five but, like at the Vuelta a Burgos, a mass crash in the final kilometre marred his victory.
Heading into the last 800 metres of the day for the sprint finish at Rzeszów, the peloton attempted to navigate a sharp right-hand bend after a narrowing of the road from four lanes to two. However, Mike Teunissen (Jumbo-Visma) lost control of his bike on the corner.
With the riders bottlenecked together, this left some with nowhere to go but into each other.
Bauhaus managed to escape being caught, though, and sprinted ahead of Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ) to take the stage victory.
With the crash coming in the final three kilometres of both races, all riders in both pelotons were given in the same time.
