Jonas Vingegaard crashed out of the Tour de France on stage 15 on Sunday, while he was riding in second place. It was confirmed later that he broke his collarbone.
The Dane was the first rider to slide out on a corner on the way approach the stage’s final hors category climb. He remained on the floor clutching his shoulder and clearly in some pain, and was taken away in an ambulance.
Several other riders also came down in the crash including some of Vingegaard’s Visma-Lease a Bike team-mates.
Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), a key domestique for yellow-jersey wearer Tadej Pogačar and a challenger for the white jersey, was also brought down in the crash. All the riders other than Vingegaard were able to remount their bikes and rejoin the race.
The day had been marked by the Dane’s team leading the bunch and working hard in what appeared to be an attempt to set up Vignegaard for an attack on the climb to the finish at the summit of Plateau de Solaison.
Replays appeared to show Vingegaard clipping the kerb in a turn and falling onto it.
A Visma-Lease a Bike spokesperson said: "Following a crash in Stage 15 of the Tour de France, Jonas sustained a fractured collarbone and multiple abrasions. Due to the severity of the collarbone fracture, surgical intervention has been recommended and will be performed in the coming days."
It caps what had already been a difficult day for the two-time Tour de France champion after he was woken at 2am this morning to give samples to doping control officers.
The Dane was aiming to become just the second person this century to win both the Tour and Giro d’Italia in the same year, after his long-time rival did the double in 2024.
This is the second crash Vingegaard has suffered this year after he sustained facial injuries in a crash at a training camp in January.
He recovered and cruised to Giro victory in May before starting the Tour earlier this month.