Full medical bulletin from mass crash at the Critérium du Dauphiné

With 21km of stage 5 to ride on Thursday afternoon, the Critérium du Dauphiné peloton suffered a mass crash that seemed to take everybody by surprise. Tackling a gentle and straight descent, riders began crashing left, right and centre, as the slick tarmac turned into a hazard under torrential rain.

Riders were pictured sliding along the road as they hit the deck, some travelling tens of metres and some suffering more consequential falls than others. It soon became apparent that most of the peloton had been impacted and racing was brought to a halt by the organisers.

For a prolonged period, the peloton, including Tour de France favourites Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), stopped to take stock of their injuries.

It was eventually decided that the stage would be neutralised to the finish, with the breakaway halted and no time gaps awarded over the line. For the final 20km, the peloton rode gently behind the race director's car and once at the finish in Saint-Priest, the medical professionals could get to work assessing the riders.

Read more: Critérium du Dauphiné stage 5 neutralised and no winner awarded

Visma-Lease a Bike, UAE Team Emirates suffer

Some were not able to finish the stage, such were their injuries. The most high-profile DNFs came from the besieged Visma-Lease a Bike team, who have suffered several misfortunes this season and currently have both Wout van Aert and Jonas Vingegaard on an altitude camp in Tignes, hoping to regain top shape ahead of a possible Tour de France start.

From the Dutch team, Steven Kruijswijk was taken away in an ambulance and Dylan van Baarle was pictured being placed into a sling. Visma-Lease a Bike later confirmed that Van Baarle had fractured his collarbone and would be joined on the inactive list by Kruijswijk, who suffered a small fracture in his hip.

Both riders have now been ruled out of the Tour de France, proving another blow to the team that won all three Grand Tours in 2023.

Both Roglič and Evenepoel are at the Dauphiné making their first appearances since abandoning the Itzulia Basque Country in a mass crash in April, and both riders were unfortunate enough to hit the deck on Thursday. It was Evenepoel who appeared the worst affected at first, with the Belgian pictured holding his shoulder on the ground.

“Because of the rain, the roads became very slippery, and as we were on a descent, the crash happened," the race leader explained after the stage. "I don’t think anyone can be blamed for this. I was a bit unlucky, as I almost avoided the crash, but another bike got caught under my bike, and I ended up on the ground, on my right side again.

"Overall, I think I am ok, but I will know more tomorrow morning before the start of stage six."

Read more: Remco Evenepoel and Primož Roglič involved in mass crash at Critérium du Dauphiné

For Roglič, his shoulder was also a concern. Despite Bora-Hansgrohe reporting no broken bones for their team leader, the Slovenian did note to the media that he had gone through surgery on his shoulder a few seasons ago and that he would have to assess if any injuries had been re-aggravated. The 34-year-old is expected to start stage 6.

Elsewhere, UAE Team Emirates saw seven of their eight riders hit the deck in the incident, with only Marc Soler escaping acquaintance with the tarmac. Juan Ayuso was among those who crashed and suffered from "deep abrasions to [his] left hip and elbow." All seven riders were provisionally cleared to start stage 6, with none suffering from concussion, but Ayuso withdrew from the race on Friday morning in order to prioritise his preparations for the Tour de France.

Aside from Van Baarle and Kruijswijk, the other riders to abandon the race on stage 5 were Luke Durbridge (Jayco AlUla), Rémy Rochas (Groupama-FDJ), Ådne Holter (Uno-X Mobility), Laurens Huys (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Rainer Kepplinger (Bahrain Victorious), Axel Mariault (Cofidis) and Milan Menten (Lotto Dstny).

Intermarché-Wanty's Kobe Goossens will not start stage 6 as a result of injuring his knee in the crash, nor will Bahrain Victorious' Jasha Sütterlin or Kamil Gradek. Equally, EF Education-EasyPost announced the withdrawals of Harry Sweeny and Lukas Nerurkar, with the former suffering from a non-Covid illness and the latter testing positive for Covid-19.

Huys was diagnosed with a concussion shortly after the stage, with Wielerflits reporting spine trauma and a head injury for Rochas. Mariault, meanwhile, suffered from skin abrasions and a hip contusion.

Below are the full medical bulletins from the teams of each rider in question, starting with UAE Team Emirates and their lengthy injury list.

UAE Team Emirates

Juan Ayuso

Thursday evening: "Heavy fall onto left hip, elbow, knee and ankle. Deep abrasions to left hip and elbow. No overt fractures. No concussion/spinal injury. He will be stiff and sore over the next 3-4 days."

Friday morning: "Due to his injuries sustained yesterday, Juan Ayuso did not take to the start of the stage this morning. He is simply in too much discomfort to race. He will now head home for recovery and rehab under the supervision of the medical team, before heading to altitude to continue his preparation for the Tour de France."

Igor Arrieta

"Fall into left hip with moderate abrasion. No concussion/spinal injury."

Nils Politt

"Fall onto left hip and knee with moderate abrasions. Also hit left lateral 4th-6th ribs on handlebar. No pulmonary injury and no clear rib fracture on ultrasound, only soft tissue. Haematoma. No concussion/spinal injury."

Pavel Sivakov

"Fall into left hip and knee with moderate abrasions. No fractures. No concussion/spinal injury."

Marc Soler

"No crash, he is well."

Michael Vink

"Heavy fall onto left elbow and hip with deep abrasions. No fracture. No spinal injury. Should be cleared to start tomorrow."

Tim Wellens

"Fell onto right hand with abrasions. Some scaphoid area discomfort, but full active function and no problems with bike handling. Small abrasions to lower back and right knee. No concussion/spinal injury."

Dylan van Baarle and Steven Kruijswijk (Visma-Lease a Bike)

"Following the big crash today, Dylan van Baarle and Steven Kruijswijk were taken to the hospital. Examinations revealed that Dylan has fractured his collarbone and will need surgery. Steven has a small fracture in his hip that will heal with rest.

"We’re very disappointed to report that we will have to miss both riders at the Tour de France. We wish them all the best for their recovery."

Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale

"Bruno Armirail, Clément Berthet, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Dorian Godon and Oliver Naesen were involved in the collective crash 22km from the finish of stage 5. No fractures were detected.

"Our riders are suffering of dermabrasions and/or contusions but they will be able to start tomorrow."

Primož Roglič and Bora-Hansgrohe

"It started as a sprint stage and ended as a neutralised one after a large crash, where all our guys hit the deck. Initial assessment: no broken bones and some grazed skin and sprains. Now onto recovery and follow-up in the morning. We wish everyone involved in the crash well."

Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step)

"Because of the rain, the roads became very slippery, and as we were on a descent, the crash happened. I don’t think anyone can be blamed for this. I was a bit unlucky, as I almost avoided the crash, but another bike got caught under my bike, and I ended up on the ground, on my right side again. Overall, I think I am ok, but I will know more tomorrow morning before the start of stage six”

Lidl-Trek

"Our guys are all okay ❤️ and were able to get back on their bikes."

Bahrain Victorious

Thursday evening: "Jack Haig was the only rider not involved.

"Rainer Kepplinger has abandoned the race following the concussion protocol while Sütterlin will go to hospital for scans on his injuries."

Friday morning: "Following scans after yesterday's crash, Jasha Sütterlin and Kamil Gradek will not start stage 6.

"Sütterlin sustained a fractured hip, and Gradek a fractured hand."

Groupama-FDJ

"Rémy Rochas was forced to abandon the Dauphiné after suffering a crash on stage 5. He will undergo further medical examination. Valentin Madouas, Quentin Pacher and Clément Russo also crashed, but they will be taking the start tomorrow."

Ineos Grenadiers

"Our riders were able to remount and will join the peloton in rolling to the finish together. We hope all of those impacted by the crash have a speedy recovery."

Cofidis

"After hospital examinations, Axel Mariault suffered a hip contusion and skin abrasions.

"Guillaume Martin, Hugo Toumire, Oliver Knight also suffer from skin abrasions but they will be fine at the start tomorrow."

Movistar

"Gregor Mühlberger has been affected, although he was able to resume walking.

"We will update with more information about the Movistar Team as soon as we have precise data."

Laurens Huys (Cofidis)

"Caught in the massive fall of the 5th stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné this Thursday, Laurens Huys presents multiple deep skin abrasions and a concussion, without signs of seriousness. He will therefore not start the 6th stage."

Lotto Dstny

"After the big crash, Andreas Kron and Jonas Gregaard have some abrasions. Normally they will continue the race tomorrow."

EF Education-EasyPost

Thursday evening: "Neilson Powless and Harry Sweeney were involved in the large crash that neutralized the race at the Critérium du Dauphine.

"Thankfully both are able to finish the stage.

"We hope all riders involved are ok. 🫶"

Friday morning: "Harry Sweeny and Lukas Nerurkar will not start stage 6 of the Critérium du Dauphiné. Lukas has tested positive for Covid and Harry has a non-Covid related respiratory illness. We hope that they both get well soon."

Kobe Goossens (Intermarché-Wanty)

"Kobe Goossens was involved in the massive crash of #Dauphiné stage 5, hurting his knee. We decided to withdraw Kobe from the race to prepare his upcoming goals on training camp," said the team on Thursday evening, wtih Goossens releasing his own statement on Friday morning.

"After the massive crash of yesterday I’m forced to leave
the Dauphiné. Let’s go home recover and do some more examinations, after restart a new preparation plan to be the best version of myself in the upcoming races!

"I wish all the riders involved a speedy recovery."

Alpecin-Deceuninck

"Five riders from Alpecin-Deceuninck also crashed yesterday in the fifth stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné. Fortunately, everyone is again ready to start today."

Xandro Meurisse

“Contusion of the right rib cage, no fractures, no abrasions.”

Juri Hollmann

“Superficial abrasions left ankle, knee, hip, thumb and deep abrasion right elbow, no need for sutures. Experienced head trauma but without symptoms of concussion.”

Luca Vergallito

“Contusion of the rib cage left side along with multiple abrasions left knee, hip and shoulder. Also experienced head trauma but also without symptoms of concussion.”

Jason Osborne

“Suffers from abrasions left hip and hand.”

Jensen Plowright

“Minor abrasions right knee and hip.”

Astana Qazaqstan

"After yesterday’s medical check, we have good news that Santiago Umba and all our riders are ready to continue the race and will start the sixth stage."

Israel-Premier Tech

"The boys all finished the stage safely."

Q36.5 Pro Cycling

"All our boys are in and seem to have escaped relatively unscathed. Time to recover and focus on the next three tough mountain stages.

"We send the best wishes to all the other riders involved in the crash 🙏"

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.