70kph crash leaves Affini needing internal and external stitches; Tour de France now in doubt

Visma | Lease a Bike is anxiously waiting to see if Edoardo Affini will be able to compete in the Tour de France in July. The experienced Italian crashed hard on Thursday during the Italian National Time Trial Championships. Although the team’s initial update seemed hopeful, Affini’s injuries appear to be quite severe after all.

With no footage available, Italian journalists reported on Thursday afternoon that Affini had crashed hard just 6 kilometers into the time trial. Ganna won the time trial title; Affini was taken to hospital for examination.

Visma | Lease a Bike confirmed the rumors that evening, stating that the examinations had not revealed any fractures. “Code green,” as they say in Italy. But although that code indicates that no immediate medical attention is needed, the question of what other injuries there might be naturally remains.

Visma | Lease a Bike announced that Affini will be closely monitored over the next few days, so his participation in the Tour de France—which begins on July 4 in Barcelona—has not yet been ruled out.

However, the news coming out of Italy on Friday was not particularly positive. While there were no broken bones, Affini did sustain a “deep cut in the groin” during the crash at 70 kilometers per hour, according to Tutto Bici. The wound required both internal and external stitches.

A hard impact against the guardrail— footage released on Friday showed that it had indeed been a serious crash. Affini was captured on camera lying beneath the guardrail and later, in pain, being carried on a stretcher toward the ambulance. The tire on the front wheel of his Cervélo time-trial bike had come off.

"We can confirm that Edoardo's participation in the Tour de France is increasingly in jeopardy," came the report from Italy. If Affini is unable to compete in the Tour de France due to his current injuries, Visma | Lease a Bike will have to make changes to its planned roster for the third time.

Christophe Laporte and Wout van Aert had already been ruled out due to injuries earlier on. They will be replaced by Per Strand Hagenes and Davide Piganzoli. Affini is a key support rider for team leader Jonas Vingegaard, and may be harder to replace.