🎥 Pogačar begins Stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse knowing his fiancée Urska Zigart crashed hard in Locarno

Urska Zigart crashed hard on Thursday in the final moments of the second stage of the Tour of Switzerland. The Slovenian of AG Insurance Soudal Quick-Step, who is the fiancée of Tadej Pogacar, lost control of her handlebars when she rode over a bump in Locarno. Pogacar is starting his second stage there this afternoon in the yellow jersey.

Zigart, who looked very strong on Wednesday in the opening stage, was riding in a small group in the finale, including the dropped yellow jersey Femke de Vries. The Slovenian was the first of that group to ride over a bump, after which she lost control of her handlebars.

That happened just before the finish in Locarno, which is why she, like Sara Casasola of Fenix-Premier Tech, was still classified at 2:15 down. The extent of Zigart's injuries are as yet unclear.

Zigart recently escaped a serious crash in the Women's Giro d'Italia, but was still carrying the consequences of it in her head during the first stage in Switzerland. By her own account, she did not dare to descend at full speed, which ultimately contributed to costing her the victory in the opening stage in the Alpine country.

Because the men’s and women’s Tour of Switzerland use the same start and finish locations, this is also an unpleasant situation for Pogacar. He still has to race this afternoon, knowing that his partner has crashed hard.

In the afternoon, the organization provided a brief update regarding Zigart. 'Urska Zigart was involved in an incident at a speed bump, despite multiple warnings from the safety marshals,' the Tour de Suisse organization stated. 'She has been taken to the hospital for examination. More information will follow when available.'

Pogačar reportedly chose to continue riding in the stage around Locarno, after hearing that his girlfriend was conscious and having already spoken to her, according to Slovenian media. Ultimately, given how bad the crash looked on film, Zigart got away fairly lightly with a broken jaw and a concussion.

After stage 2 of the men's race, where Pogačar nearly caught the day's breakaway, the World Champion refused media dutoies. UAE Team manager Joxean “Matxin” Fernandez explained the situation: “Tadej got the bad news before the start. I reassured him; I saw Urska before the start. It’s nothing serious. He wasn’t really in the mood to race. I saw that he was a little upset; it wasn’t like him.”