Massive crash at Itzulia Basque Country injures Vingegaard, Roglič, Evenepoel and others

An awful crash late in Thursday’s fourth stage of the Itzulia Basque Country injured double Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard, race leader Primož Roglič and world time trial champion Remco Evenepoel, and they were among a handful of riders that had to abandon the race.

The crash came on a left hand curve on the descent of Cat. 3 Olaeta with about 35 km to race. Boulders and a concrete ditch off road contributed to the seriousness of the injuries. A couple of minutes before, a member of the breakaway went off course in the same corner.

The ambulances arrived quickly. Vingegaard didn’t move for several minutes lying on his side. Roglič got up and limped to the team car; later he waved from the passenger seat, so his injuries might not be as serious as some of the other crashers. Remco Evenepoel held his right arm in a way that suggests a broken collarbone. Steff Cras of Total Energies sat in the concrete gully with a compound fracture of the lower leg. It was an awful scene.

The race was neutralized. The peloton rolled somberly to the finish line, while the breakaway, oddly, was allowed to race for the win. As he crossed the line, Louis Meintjes acknowledged the scattered applause with an arm raised parallel to the ground and shook his head, a seventh career win a somewhat hollow one. “It’s maybe a victory,” he said to a reporter, “but it doesn’t really feel like it.”

The parcel of injuries comes a week after Wout van Aert crashed out of Dwars door Vlaanderen with damage that threatens his Giro d’Italia.