Regarding Wout Van Aert and Matteo Jorgenson, who both crashed in the same crash on stage 2 of the Tour de France, the management of Vimaris A Bikes announced that both riders suffered few injuries from the crash and are ready to continue racing.
Jorgenson himself said after the stage that he was surprised that he did not suffer more serious injuries, given the speed at which both riders fell, and that the worst damage was a minor road rash. Van Aert himself suffered an abrasion on his right side, but nothing more serious.
The American rider proved that no serious damage had been done by substituting for team leader Jonas Vingegaard on the final climb of the day, the famously tough St. Luca, and finishing 21 seconds behind the main group of contenders for the win. 25 on July 1 Jorgenson, who celebrated his 25th birthday, is currently in 14th place overall behind yellow jersey winner Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates).
Sports director Grischa Niermann said of Van Aert and Jorgenson before the start of the 230.9-km third stage between Piacenza and Turin, "They will be fine."
On a very flat stage that is almost certain to end in a group sprint, Van Aert said, "They will probably go for the sprint. It's going to be a long, long day."
Van Aert himself told reporters before the third stage, "That's the plan. I just hope I feel good on the bike. It's been a tough weekend and the sprinters are tired, so I always have a chance."
He said.
Asked about his crash after the second stage, Jorgenson said, "Surprisingly, I think I'm okay. But I got up and somehow my skin fell off."
"I had one hand on the bar, the other on the feed bag, and I was getting a bottle, and the two riders in front of me split up around a big hole."I hit the hole and my left hand slipped off the bar. This has never happened to me before, and now it just happened."
Jorgenson could see that his team leader, Vingegaard, had arguably the best day of the GC winners. He did not win the yellow jersey like Tadej Pogachar, but he showed that he could at least go toe-to-toe with the Slovenian on the short, steep climbs.
Really impressive, Jonas was super impressive. Compared to Pogachar, this was one of his least favorite stages in the Tour. Today was a huge victory."
Overall, Jorgenson said the opening weekend of the 2024 Tour de France showed a number of positive signs for Vingegaard, who returned to racing after a long recovery period following a major crash in IturiĆ” Basque.
"I feel nothing but strength and confidence, and the way he descends and copes in the group is great.
"Other riders have fallen just like him and it took me years to get back to the same level of confidence. Jonas seems to be back already.
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