Two-time Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard claimed he was not properly checked by race doctors after he was concussed in a crash during the Paris-Nice in March.
Vingegaard hurt his left hand when he hit the ground in a climb during the fifth stage of the weeklong race, and the Visma-Lease a Bike team leader later revealed he also suffered a head trauma.
Vingegaard, who has yet to resume racing, said during a press conference on Monday that he was surprised by the lack of precaution after his crash.
“I went to the race doctor because I had some blood on my face," he said. "I was bleeding, but they never once checked me for concussion, which I find a bit odd, to be honest.
"Like, it was visible that my glasses were broken, I had blood on my face, I even had a little bit of blood here on the eyebrow. For me, that was a bit odd that they didn’t check me for a concussion.”
International Cycling Union rules say riders who are suspected of having a concussion should immediately be assessed by a physician or a healthcare professional if "red flags" are noted after a blow to the head.
“Speaking more for the future, I think as soon as somebody has something within the shoulders and above, like, that's visible, and you see that they hit something there, they should check them for a concussion,” he said. ”Once I go to the medical car, they should at least check me when they can see that I hit my face.”
After the crash, Vingegaard got back on his bike and finished the stage before retiring. He then withdrew from the Catalonia Volta.
He said he really struggled in the aftermath of the crash.
“When I had been awake for about an hour or so, I had to sleep for about an hour and a half for the first three, four days,” he said. “I did have a concussion, and I was really suffering from it at the start.”
Vingegaard is at a training camp, getting ready for the Tour de France, his biggest goal this year. The three-week race takes place from July 5-27. Before then, Vingegaard’s race program includes the Critérium du Dauphiné in June, a tough race that many Tour contenders use to fine-tune their preparations.
Vingegaard was runner-up at the Tour last year, lagging more than six minutes behind Tadej Pogacar. But his preparations last year were hampered by a crash three months beforehand when he sustained a broken collarbone and ribs, and a collapsed lung.
“Last year, I had this nasty crash and it did not feel like the optimal preparation for the Tour de France,” he said. “This year, I crashed again in the spring. So, I feel like I missed out a bit on the whole spring campaign. I have even more motivation to go to the Tour de France.”
AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling
FILE - Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard waits for the start of the nineteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 144.6 kilometers (89.9 miles) with start in Embrun and finish in Isola 2000, France, July 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)
CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — In the aftermath of a fire inside a Swiss Alpine bar that killed 40 people celebrating the new year, survivors, friends and family members, the region’s top authorities and even Pope Leo have spoken to the public in remarks in French, Italian, German and English, reflecting the tradition of Swiss multilingualism.
Another 119 people were injured in the blaze early Thursday as it ripped through the busy Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana, authorities said. It was one of the deadliest tragedies in Switzerland’s history.
Investigators said Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the crowded bar.
Here’s a look at what people said in the wake of the disaster:
— “I’m looking everywhere. The body of my son is somewhere,” Laetitia Brodard told reporters Friday in Crans-Montana as she searched for her son, 16-year-old Arthur. “I want to know, where is my child, and be by his side. Wherever that may be, be it in the intensive care unit or the morgue.”
— “We were bringing people out, people were collapsing. We were doing everything we could to save them, we helped as many as we could. We saw people screaming, running,” Marc-Antoine Chavanon, 14, told The Associated Press in Crans-Montana on Friday, recounting how he rushed to the bar to help the injured. “There was one of our friends: She was struggling to get out, she was all burned. You can’t imagine the pain I saw.”
— “It was hard to live through for everyone. Also probably because everyone was asking themselves, ‘Was my child, my cousin, someone from the region at this party?’” Eric Bonvin, general director of the regional hospital in Sion that took in dozens of injured people, told AP on Friday. “This place was very well known as somewhere to celebrate the new year,” Bonvin said. “Also, seeing young people arrive — that’s always traumatic.”
— “I have seen horror, and I don’t know what else would be worse than this,” Gianni Campolo, a Swiss 19-year-old who was in Crans-Montana on vacation and rushed to the bar to help first responders, told France's TF1 television.
—“You will understand that the priority today is truly placed on identification, in order to allow the families to begin their mourning,” Beatrice Pilloud, the Valais region's attorney general, told reporters Friday during a news conference in Sion.
Pope Leo said in a telegram Friday to the bishop of Sion that he " wishes to express his compassion and concern to the relatives of the victims. He prays that the Lord will welcome the deceased into His abode of peace and light, and will sustain the courage of those who suffer in their hearts or in their bodies.”
— “We have numerous accounts of heroic actions, one could say of very strong solidarity in the moment,” Cantonal head of government Mathias Reynard told RTS radio Friday. "In the first minutes it was citizens — and in large part young people — who saved lives with their courage.”
— “Switzerland is a strong country not because it is sheltered from drama, but because it knows how to face them with courage and a spirit of mutual help," Swiss President Guy Parmelin, speaking on his first day in the position that changes hands annually, told reporters Thursday.
People bring flowers near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)
A woman holding a stuffed animal, whose daughter is missing, gather with others near the sealed-off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
People light candles near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)
