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Jonas Vingegaard’s Tour de France came to an abrupt end on Sunday at a roundabout in Amancy. The Danish rider from Visma | Lease a Bike broke his collarbone in a crash, forcing the Dutch team to continue without its leader. What happens next? Team manager Marc Reef answers that question.
On Monday evening, Vingegaard flew home. “Jonas is scheduled to undergo surgery for his fracture on Tuesday (today, ed.). After that, we’ll have to wait and see how quickly he recovers,” Reef told De Telegraaf. It just goes to show how fast things can change: on Sunday morning, the Dane was still in second place in the Tour de France; by Monday evening, he had landed in Denmark with a broken collarbone.
On Monday, the day after the crash, Vingegaard still joined the group for breakfast. “It’s turned into a very strange situation, of course, especially for Jonas,” said Reef. “Everything this year was focused on winning the Tour de France. When that’s snatched away so abruptly, it’s incredibly cruel.”
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Vingegaard spoke at a 'farewell breakfast' after Tour de France crash
The team manager explains. “You have to imagine that Jonas was sitting at the table with riders with whom he’d been working for a very long time to achieve a goal. For him, that was wiped out by that crash, but those other guys can keep going.” Despite the cruelty of the situation, the Visma team leader still spoke up.
"Jonas said he was very disappointed because he couldn't continue the fight alongside them. He said it was especially bitter because we were making good progress. Finally, he praised the guys and told them that they were all in good shape. He said they need to keep fighting and show what we stand for,” says Reef.
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Visma sets its sights on stage victory at the Tour de France
The question, of course, remains: what now? “I think it’s especially important that we show resilience over the coming week. We’re going for that second stage win, and if we pull it off, we can be very satisfied,” Reef says, looking ahead. After a setback like that, that won’t be easy for the riders of the Dutch team, of course.
But, as Reef points out: “It’s easier for some riders than others to switch gears, because everyone’s personality is different. Some can, so to speak, start looking ahead right after their shower. For some of those guys, it takes more time, and you have to pay a little more attention to them.”
