"That's how cycling is": Vingegaard will undergo surgery on his collarbone and avoids blaming anyone for his crash in the Tour

The 2026 Tour de France has lost one of its great protagonists. Jonas Vingegaard abandoned the race after a hard fall suffered just over 20 kilometers from the finish of the 15th stage, on the way to the Plateau de Solaison, and this Sunday his team, Visma Lease a Bike, confirmed the extent of the Danish rider's injuries.

Vingegaard will undergo surgery on his collarbone after his fall in the Tour and avoids pointing fingers: “That's how racing is”

According to the official statement from the Dutch team, Vingegaard suffered a fracture of the right collarbone, in addition to multiple abrasions, and will need to undergo surgery in the coming days due to the severity of the injury. The team has not yet decided whether the procedure will take place in France or once the rider returns to Denmark.

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In its statement, Visma Lease a Bike explained the diagnosis of the two-time Tour champion:

“After a fall in stage 15 of the Tour de France, Jonas suffered a collarbone fracture and multiple abrasions. Due to the severity of the collarbone fracture, surgical intervention has been recommended and will take place in the coming days.”

Sporting director Marc Reef also confirmed after the stage that they were still evaluating where the Danish rider would be operated on.

Vingegaard downplays the possible causes of the fall

After the accident, various theories emerged about the cause of the fall. Tadej Pogačar pointed out that the anti-doping control that forced Vingegaard to get up early could have influenced, while his teammate Davide Piganzoli suggested that the maneuver of a race motorcycle may have complicated the entry into the roundabout.

However, Vingegaard himself avoided looking for blame and downplayed the importance of any of those hypotheses.

In statements to TV2 Denmark, he explained what happened with composure:

“We were going for the stage win and maybe we entered that roundabout too fast. Then the front wheel simply lost grip. I didn't have time to do anything, and that's how bike races are sometimes. It's a real shame for us.”

The Danish rider was also asked about the possible influence of the motorcycle that was ahead of the group, but he again rejected any attempt to point fingers:

“Maybe the motorcycle made a mistake, but we can't depend on motorcycles. We have to use our own judgment. People make mistakes, and now we can't do anything about it.”

With these statements, Vingegaard wanted to make it clear that, despite the speculation following the accident, he believes that such incidents are part of the competition and preferred not to hold the organization or third parties responsible.

Despite the hard blow of having to say goodbye to the Tour while in second place in the general classification, the Danish rider assured that he feels better than expected.

“I am surprisingly well. Obviously, it is very disappointing to have to abandon like this and for the Tour to end this way. But that's cycling. Fortunately, it's just a broken collarbone.”

The abandonment ends Vingegaard's fight to win his third Tour de France. At the time of the accident, he was in second place in the general classification, 4:30 behind Tadej Pogačar, after having shown throughout the race his intention to continue fighting for the final victory.