🎥 Visma | Lease a Bike makes amends before final Tour of Denmark stage

Visma | Lease a Bike and AIRTOX-Carl Ras have smoothed over any remaining tension, if that was even necessary, at the Tour of Denmark. During Friday’s third stage, the Danish Continental team saw its rider Thor Vangsø Nielsen crash, an incident that had consequences not only for the young Dane but also for his sunglasses.

Vangsø Nielsen came down heavily during stage 3, whose finale was hit by torrential rain. As the 20-year-old sat in the grass beside the road recovering from his fall, he watched a team car drive over his Oakley sunglasses. The car belonged to Visma | Lease a Bike, which probably had to take evasive action to avoid something else on the road.

The promising rider was unable to finish the third stage following the crash. He was therefore not present on Sunday when, shortly before the start of the fifth and final stage, Visma | Lease a Bike sent someone to the AIRTOX-Carl Ras team van to deliver a brand-new pair of Oakley sunglasses. The eyewear company is also one of Visma | Lease a Bike’s sponsors.

One of Visma’s sports directors—the same person who had driven over the sunglasses on Friday—personally delivered the replacement pair. “I really didn’t see them, sorry. I wish Thor a speedy recovery,” he said in a short video. Vangsø Nielsen suffered a significant hip injury in the crash and is expected to remain sidelined for the time being.

Visma | Lease a Bike, with Wout van Aert, is on track to claim the overall victory in Denmark. The Belgian won three of the first four stages and began Sunday’s final stage with a commanding advantage in the general classification. After the team’s thoughtful gesture, everyone at AIRTOX-Carl Ras will surely be happy to see Van Aert and Visma enjoy further success.