🎥 Big crash turns XDS Astana's Tour de France team time trial into a nightmare: 'Major setback for our team'
CyclingSunday, 05 July 2026 at 08:47
Follow IDL Pro Cycling on Google
Stay up to date with the best cycling news by making us a preferred source on Google.
Follow us on GoogleFor XDS Astana, the 2026 Tour de France team time trial turned into a minor drama. The Kazakh team got off to a decent start in Barcelona, but dropped out of the day’s top 20 after the second intermediate checkpoint. The team explained why afterwards.
ADVERTISEMENT
"A major setback for our team," XDS Astana wrote via its official channels on Saturday. "Three of our riders crashed during the first part of the team time trial." The riders involved were Simone Velasco, Nicolas Vinokourov, and Harold Tejada.
"All the riders finished the stage, but of course we lost a lot of time," he continued. A medical update later brought some good news: "No broken bones or serious injuries for our riders, but they have all sustained scrapes and bruises."
Continue reading below the Tweet!
Teunissen wants to make a comeback with Astana at the Tour de France
Mike Teunissen, the Dutch rider on the XDS Astana team in this Tour de France, posted a motivational message on his social media accounts. “This isn’t how we wanted to start this Tour de France, but we’re definitely going to fight our way back.”
In principle, Astana has brought an attacking eight-man squad to the Tour, though if Tejada is in top form, you can also dream of a strong general classification finish in the Tour de France. He won a stage in Paris-Nice earlier this year.
The highest-ranked rider is now Sergio Higuita, already 2.18 minutes behind stage winner and race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike). Tejada crossed the finish line half a minute later. Velasco, nearly 6 minutes behind, was the last rider to finish the stage.
Groupama-FDJ United loses Berthet after just Stage 1
Groupama-FDJ United also suffered a crash—reportedly at the same spot as XDS Astana. However, the consequences were more serious; although Clément Berthet managed to finish the team time trial (placing 111th), bad news followed later.
"It could have been a perfect opening day, but unfortunately, the eighth-place finish in the team time trial was heavily overshadowed by Clément Berthet's withdrawal," the team stated via its official channels.
The 28-year-old Frenchman crossed the finish line alongside Guillaume Martin, who had also gone down. It turned out, however, that Berthet had sustained injuries; he reportedly failed the concussion protocol, meaning he cannot continue in the race.
David Bavin-HobbsChief Editor
David has been working in the sports & cycling industry for 16 years. Covering racing, business and technology, he has worked in communications for cycling companies, teams, and as a journalist. His proudest achievement is winning the first bike race he ever entered. He hasn't won a race since.
IDL-productions
2026 Tour de France stage 2 favourites | Pogačar out for revenge on this punchy stage to Barcelona
Bradley Wiggins has a theory about Pogacar’s Tour de France ‘loss'; Hincapie and Armstrong go giddy for Evenepoel
Bizarrely, Egan Bernal is wearing the first green jersey of the 2206 Tour de France. Here's why
How well do you know the history of the Tour de France? Test yourself before the 2026 Grand Départ
Are you a secret Tour de France winning DS? Enter the IDL Pro Cycling Fantasy league and find out!
Latest Cycling News
2026 Tour de France stage 2 favourites | Pogačar out for revenge on this punchy stage to Barcelona
2026 Tour de France Standings | Some significant time gaps after the Team Time Trial
'Thanks for your concern': Pogačar gives an update on partner Zigart after Swiss crash
Polka-dot Pogačar can fall back on 3-second 'gain' over Vingegaard after Tour de France setback
Tour de France Route 2026 | Vingegaard draws first blood, here's what's coming up on stage 2
Popular Cycling News
Vingegaard and Visma | Lease a Bike deal Pogacar first blow with victory in Tour de France team time trial
2026 Tour de France stage 1 team time trial favourites | Cycling's very own World Cup kicks off in Barcelona
Tour de France Route 2026 | Vingegaard draws first blood, here's what's coming up on stage 2
4 kilos lighter but just as sharp-tongued: Remco Evenepoel kicks off the Tour de France with a bang
There's another way to watch the Tour de France for free on UK TV, thanks to Welsh broadcasters
Latest Comments
- - How big a deal is Stage 1 usually? Does it always decide who wins yellow, or is it more about not losing too much time early?sprocketspiny05-07-2026
- - Venga Cian, ánimo! Calor terrible en Barcelona, aún hay tres semanas para remontar.cadencekingm05-07-2026
- - Movistar bottled the strategy there. Seventh at the checks and then chaos on the climb—half measures cost them at least 20–30 seconds.julien05-07-2026
- - Fair play to Uijtdebroeks for fronting up. Cramps in that heat are savage, and it’s a long Tour. He can still target a top 10 if he rides smart in week 2-patriciaw05-07-2026
- - I don’t understand why they didn’t just slow the whole group when Cian cramped. Isn’t the point of a team time trial to finish together?samanthak05-07-2026
- - Garcia Pierna finishing solo in a TTT… oof. That looked like a communications breakdown in the car. Still, Visma were always going to smash that with Vinge flying.andrewf05-07-2026
- - Is53 on day one basically GC over, or can he claw that back in the mountains? Genuine question.pedalpowe2905-07-2026
- - Brutal opener for Cian. Heat + first-day nerves + that kicker near Montjuïc is a nasty combo. Movistar’s TTT call was messy though—either ride for time or ride for the leader, not both.jeremya05-07-2026
- - Higuita at18 isn’t catastrophic. If he limits losses in the first big summit finish, he’s still in the conversation for a topNeeds clean positioning and no more chaos.andrewf05-07-2026
- - Slightly confused: article says “attacking eight-man squad” but then also hints at GC for Tejada. Which is it—are they backing him for overall or just hunting stages?samanthak05-07-2026
Loading
