PARIS, April 16 — Two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard gave a “thumbs-up” sign as he left hospital on Tuesday following a horrific crash in the Tour of the Basque Country.
The Danish Visma-Lease a Bike rider was hospitalised after suffering rib and collarbone fractures and sustaining lung damage in the shocking incident on April 4.
His team, however, released two photographs of Vingegaard outside the hospital on Tuesday, showing him giving a thumbs-up with his left hand while his right arm remains in a sling with two fingers still bandaged.
“Hello everyone, it’s time for me to leave the hospital,” said Vingegaard in his message which went out on social media.
“I want to thank all the medical staff for taking so good care of me. And I want to thank everyone for their moral support. I have received lot of messages, presents and drawings. Heartwarming! Now it’s time to fully recover again. Thumbs up!”
Vingegaard, 27, who won the Tour de France in 2022 and 2023, is hoping to complete a hat-trick of victories this summer but the crash has put his participation in significant doubt.
Remco Evenepoel also broke his collarbone in the crash on stage four of the race in northern Spain, while Primoz Roglic, who was leading the race, also retired after the crash, although without sustaining any fractures.
Visma’s other star rider Wout van Aert broke his collarbone and several ribs in a high-speed mass pile up during the Around Flanders one-day race in March.
As a result he will miss the Giro d’Italia. — AFP
