Following his fall whilst wearing the yellow jersey, Norwegian Torstein Traeen’s Tour de France adventure – which had got off to a magical start – has come to a dramatic end. The 30-year-old has been forced to withdraw from the 113th edition of the Tour de France due to the after-effects of his crash. Traeen has been diagnosed with several broken ribs and a concussion, according to a statement from his team.
“This really isn’t the ending we’d hoped for in this yellow adventure,” said team managing director Thor Hushovd. Traeen had given the team a “historic moment”. “We’ll always be proud of that. However, following further examinations, it was clear that he couldn’t carry on.”
A surprise in yellow
The professional, who had previously successfully beaten testicular cancer, surprisingly took the yellow jersey from superstar Tadej Pogacar on the fourth stage. He wore it for two days.
But then, early on in the gruelling mountain stage in the Pyrenees, Traeen was unable to keep up with Pogacar. He crashed on the descent from the Col du Tourmalet and had to receive medical attention. He was initially able to continue, but did not cross the finish line until half an hour after the stage winner, Pogacar.
Pogacar mentioned Traeen in the post-race interviews. “I heard that Torstein had crashed. I hope he’s all right. I would have preferred him to have kept the jersey,” he said.
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