Race leader Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and fellow Tour de France contender Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) both went down in a big crash that caused stage 5 of the Critérium du Dauphiné to be neutralised.
Both riders were making their returns to racing following their involvement in the mass crash at the Itzulia Basque Country in April, and suffered fresh blows just three weeks out from the start of the Tour.
Roglič was quicker to get back to his feet and looked relatively okay, but Evenepoel sat for longer on the wet tarmac, nursing his right knee and his right shoulder. The Belgian champion had suffered a collarbone break in the Basque Country crash.
Both riders eventually got back to their feet and back on their bikes to roll up to where the rest of the riders had been brought to a halt. Evenepoel was seen talking to numerous riders from other teams, as a shocked peloton came to terms with what had happened.
Read more: Remco Evenepoel to make return at Critérium du Dauphiné ahead of Tour de France
Visma-Lease a Bike‘s Steven Kruijswijk and Dylan van Baarle were the worst affected, with the former stretchered into an ambulance on his side and the latter’s arm placed into a sling.
The wet roads appeared to cause the crash, with the left-hand side of the road in particular resembling an ice rink. It wasn’t so much one crash as a series of crashes. On the same stretch of road, separate clusters of riders went down independently of one another.
Numerous riders towards the back of the peloton braked as they saw riders crashing up front, causing wheels to slide uncontrollably with no purchase on the surface, and making more falls inevitable. Like their wheels, several riders slide along the glistening tarmac.
The stage was quickly neutralised by the race officials, with both the riders who escaped the crash and the two-man breakaway told to stop.
While Visma-Lease a Bike’s two GC leaders, Matteo Jorgenson and Sepp Kuss, came through unscathed at the very front of the bunch, the Dutch team were the worst affected, as their nightmare run of 2024 injuries continued. They are unsure whether Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert will be able to race the Tour de France, and two more riders on the longlist now look almost certain to be unavailable for selection.
As well as Evenepoel and Roglič, another key GC contender hit the ground in Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates). Roglič’s teammate, the former Giro d’Italia champion Jai Hindley, also went down and cut his left knee and elbow. Another former Giro winner, Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek) was another rider seen grimacing and holding his arm after the crash.
Numerous more riders hit the deck, with Romain Combaud (dsm-firmenich-postNL) hitting his head after being one of the riders to slide at the back of the bunch.
Very soon after the crash, the race organisation vehicles waved the break and what was left of the bunch to a halt. In a sign of the carnage, only four riders were left at the front of the peloton.
A lengthy delay ensued as riders assessed the damage and gathered for discussions. Tain then started to fall, leading riders to head to the cars for layers, and leading some to take shelter in places like nearby bus stops.
After more than half an hour, it was announced that the stage would be neutralised permanently, with no stage winner and no times taken on the line. This was, the organisation said, due to the fact that the race ambulances were dealing with injuries and driving to local hospitals, leaving them unable to guarantee medical provisions in the event of any further incidents in the final 20km.
The riders then proceeded to ride the final 20km to the line in escort behind the race director’s car.
For everything you need to know about the 2024 Critérium du Dauphiné, from the history of the race, to this year’s route and start list, be sure to check out our dedicated race hub.