Visma | Lease a Bike riders and staff react to Vingegaard's Tour de France crash: 'Everything was going to plan'
CyclingSunday, 19 July 2026 at 20:21
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Follow us on GoogleFor Visma | Lease a Bike, Stage 15 of the Tour de France turned out to be a disastrous day. Team leader Jonas Vingegaard looked set to win the stage, but before he even reached the final climb, he found himself on the ground after a roundabout. The Dane had to be taken away by ambulance, spelling the end of his Tour de France.
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Vingegaard was 4.30 minutes behind Tadej Pogačar (UAE Emirates-XRG), but was in a healthy second place in the general classification. He wanted to give it one last shot with Visma | Lease a Bike in the third week. Stage 15 was also tackled head-on, in the hope that Vingegaard might be able to make a move on Pogi on the long and steep Plateau de Solaison.
However, a crash after exiting a roundabout put an end to all his hopes. Vingegaard was in a lot of pain and was treated on the ground by medical staff. Eventually, he was able to walk to the ambulance with a sling around his right shoulder before being taken to the medical truck at the finish line. There, an initial attempt was made to assess the extent of his injuries.
Continue reading below the video
Marc Reef responds after Jonas Vingegaard withdraws from the Tour de France
Naturally, team manager Marc Reef was devastated after the finish. “We went through a turn, and I didn’t really have a good view from the car. But when we came out of the turn, there he was. It’s a bummer that this happened and that he had to drop out,” said the Dutchman, shortly after the finish of the fifteenth stage.
"I said I felt for him. He was in pain at that moment, and it became clear pretty quickly that he couldn't continue," Reef added about the bizarre situation. "There isn't much you can say at a moment like that. We had a big goal today: to win the stage. Everything was going according to plan until the crash, and Jonas was feeling really, really good. We were ready to go for it."
Piganzoli and Jorgenson on Vingegaard’s crash
Davide Piganzoli was still in the group of favourites when Vingegaard crashed, and the Italian confirmed to Eurosport that Visma | Lease a Bike had a plan to win the stage. He blamed himself for the crash. ‘We probably didn’t take the bend properly, which is why we went down. We waited for a moment, but it was soon announced that Jonas was out of the race.’
‘It was a normal bend; I don’t know what happened. It was a nasty crash, but unfortunately that’s part of the game,’ Piganzoli told the NOS. Matteo Jorgenson also spoke to NOS: ‘This is terrible. We’re on stage 15 and we went all-in with Jonas. We believed in it and had no plan B. A motorbike took this side of the roundabout and Victor Campenaerts followed that line. We had to brake and that caused a domino effect.'
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.
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Latest Comments
- - Gran artículo, pero ¿seguro que fue Kuurne en condiciones duras este año? I thought the crosswinds didn’t bite as much. Still, Brennan positioning was ace. Future Flanders dark horse, pero calma con las comparaciones históricas.bikebuffj03-09-2026
- - Bruyneel’s right to question him vs pure speedsters like Philipsen/Merlier/Milan. He doesn’t look as aero or chaotic in a flat bunch gallop. But on reduced sprints after a hill? He’s lethal. Visma’s leadout still looks a tad disjointed though.lindae03-09-2026
- - Wait, bit confused—how did he get 22 wins so fast if he only joined the WorldTour in 2025? Were a bunch of those from smaller races or dev team events? And does that really stack up to Pogacar/Merckx comparisons?pedalpowe2903-09-2026
- - Love the nuance here. Brennan’s not just a drag-race sprinter; you can see it in the way he survives those punchy climbs and still kicks. Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne plus Rund um Köln show he’s got classics legs. Flanders shout isn’t crazy at all.samanthak03-09-2026
- - Vamos Paul! Trois jours après ses 20 ans, le plus jeune champion du monde? C’est possible. Allez, fais-nous rêver!jeremya03-09-2026
- - Not sure the article gives enough credit to the depth: Hirschi, Matthews, Powless, Jorgenson, Van Gilder all go well on circuits like this. And calling Remco “top favourite” ignores that Worlds often comes down to team cohesion and timing. Bit simplistic, mate.jennifer1903-09-2026
- - Don’t sleep on Evenepoel here. His engine on repeated punchy climbs + a late solo is basically his signature. But I think Seixas has the legs and freshness post-Tour to mark him. Pog’s absence (if confirmed) changes everything.cyclechamp4503-09-2026
- - Wait, is the World Championships course exactly the same as the GP Montréal loop or just similar? Also, how do national teams change the tactics compared to trade teams there?cadencekingm03-09-2026
- - Huge props to Seixas for that Tour de France ride at 19 — fourth overall is bonkers. If Pogačar can’t make Montréal, this Worlds could be wide open. Remco vs Seixas on that Parc du Mont-Royal lap? Tasty.samanthak03-09-2026
- - Bit harsh to gloss over how bad Mas was last time on Calar Alto—context matters: he was sick then. He’s been super consistent this Vuelta. If the wind had split today, we’d be having a different conversation. Vamos Enric, a disfrutar mañana!andrewf02-09-2026
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