Tour of the Basque Country: Heavy crash for Vingegaard & Co. overshadows stage 4
The 4th stage of the Tour of the Basque Country 2024 was overshadowed by a serious crash. 36 kilometres before the finish, around a dozen riders fell on the descent from the Untzilla climb. Among them were Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike), Primoz Roglic (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal - Quick Step).
Jonas Vingegaard, Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel involved in crash
The worst hit was apparently Tour de France winner Vingegaard, who lay motionless on the ground for a long time and was eventually transported to an ambulance on a stretcher. His team Visma | Lease a Bike later wrote at X (formerly Twitter)that the Dane was conscious and would be taken to hospital.
Roglic was back on his feet a short time later, limped across the road and made his way into a team car. Evenepoel held his shoulder and was taken to hospital for further examinations. Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates), who was also involved in the crash, is conscious and responsive according to the team. The diagnoses of the crashed drivers have now been finalised. A few days later, Vingegaard was successfully operated on. On 16 April, his team reported, that Vingegaard has left the hospitalbut there is a question mark behind his start at the Tour de France.
Tour of the Basque Country 2024: Neutralisation on stage 4
The first rider to slip away was Natnael Tesfatsion (Lidl-Trek) from Eritrea, followed by around a dozen other riders, some of whom skidded into a concrete ditch. Several ambulances were at the scene of the accident.
The race was initially neutralised shortly after the crash. Only after a long standstill was it decided that the six breakaway riders would resume the race and fight for the stage win. The peloton rolled neutralised towards the finish in Legutio. Louis Meintjes (Intermarche-Wanty) took the stage win.
This is how the 4th stage of the 2024 Tour of the Basque Country went
With Ide Schelling (Astana Qazaqstan Team) there was one abandonment to report before the start. It was the usual race scenario at first: three riders broke away from the peloton: Reuben Thompson (Groupama-FDJ), Louis Meintjes (Intermarche-Wanty) and Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies). They were joined a little later by Mikel Retegi (Equipo Kern Pharma), Joseba Lopez (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA) and Karel Vacek (Burgos-BH). The group built up a maximum lead of around six minutes on the peloton.
Around 70 kilometres before the finish, there were brief stretches of wind - the peloton flew apart. Bora-Hansgrohe and Bahrain-Victorious put the pedal to the metal. But the storm in the peloton calmed down after a few kilometres. None of the top favourites were decisively left behind.
Serious crash on a downhill run
36 kilometres before the finish, the serious crash involving Jonas Vingegaard, Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel took place. In a right-hand bend, Natnael Tesfatsion (Lidl-Trek) slipped away first, followed by Evenepoel, who jumped artistically over the ditch, but then crashed at high speed in the forest. Roglic, Vingegaard and other riders landed further back in or just next to a concrete ditch.
The Dane lay motionless on the ground for several minutes and was taken away by ambulance. Roglic limped away from the scene of the accident and later at least stuck his thumb up from the team car. Evenepoel grabbed his shoulder and was also taken to hospital. The tour is over for all three.
Breakaway riders race for victory - peloton neutralised
Many riders were in shock. Only after a long wait was it decided to continue the stage. The six breakaway riders were to fight for the stage win, but their times would not be included in the overall classification. The peloton rolled to the finish neutralised.
After the race was reopened, Vacek took the initiative twelve kilometres before the finish at the front on the last climb of the day and attacked, Meintjes and Thompson were still able to keep up. Meintjes countered a little later and put his two companions into the wind.
With a lead of around 20 seconds on Vacek, Meintjes set off on the final flat kilometres to the finish. The South African steadily extended his cushion, while Thompson closed the gap to Vacek once again. However, the two were unable to catch up with Meintjes. The Intermarche pro took the win. Thompson won the sprint for second place.
Following the withdrawal of Roglic and Evenepoel, the new overall leader is the Dane Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek).
