Tour de France: Favorite Vingegaard's race ends after crash

Jonas Vingegaard's bid for a third consecutive Tour de France victory ended abruptly on Saturday after a crash during the 15th stage. The Danish rider, who was in second place overall, fell in a roundabout with 22 kilometers remaining on the stage to Plateau de Solaison.

Bandaged on his right arm and shoulder, Vingegaard was taken into an ambulance. He had been positioned 4 minutes and 30 seconds behind the dominant race leader, Tadej Pogacar, and was considered on track for a podium finish in Paris. Vingegaard, the captain for the Visma-Lease a Bike team, had won the Tour de France in 2022 and 2023, and finished second in the two preceding years.

The crash occurred on the approach to the final climb. Pogacar's teammate Felix Großschartner also fell but was able to continue. Germany's hope, Florian Lipowitz, was unaffected by the incident.

This incident marks another unfortunate chapter in Vingegaard's recent history with crashes. He suffered a severe fall in the 2024 Tour of the Basque Country and had only recently recovered in time for the Tour de France. Last year, he crashed out of Paris-Nice. Vingegaard had previously spoken about considering retirement last year due to the demanding nature of the sport, telling Danish TV2, "If it has to continue like this, then I can't do it anymore." The team made adjustments, and he acknowledged that his unhappiness was apparent.

Despite the setbacks, Vingegaard had started the 2026 Tour in strong form, having already won the Giro d'Italia earlier in the season. This achievement would have made him one of eight riders in cycling history to win all three Grand Tours (Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and Vuelta a España), a feat still missing from his rival Pogacar's record.

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If it has to continue like this, then I can't do it anymore. That's why we also changed some things. I think the team also recognized how the situation was. They noticed that I was not happy last year.