A two-time Tour de France champion was rushed to hospital after being caught up in a grizzly pile-up at the Itzulia Basque Country on Thursday afternoon.<br /><br />Several riders dismounted after sliding off a corner during the final stages of the run from Etxarri Aranatz to Legutio in Spain and tumbled into a concrete ditch.<br /><br />Jonas Vingegaard, who won the Tour de France in 2022 and 2023, was involved in the collision and carried away on a stretcher and given oxygen.<br /><br />Vingegaard was also fitted with a neck brace before being transported to hospital.<br /><br />'Jonas is on his way to the hospital,' a statement from his team Visma-Lease a Bike said.<br /><br />The crash, which was broadcast live, began when one rider appeared to lose control around the bend. This in turn sparked a chain of incidents where over 10 riders fell.<br /><br />Belgian cyclist Remco Evenepoel looked to land on the grass but held his collarbone after his landing. He was able to walk for assistance and was also taken to hospital.<br /><br />Primoz Roglic, a Slovenian rider, also pulled out of the race but gave a thumbs-up to the television cameras, indicating to viewers that he was not seriously hurt. <br /><br />Jay Vine, Sean Quinn, Alexander Cepeda, and Natnael Tesfatsion were also among those to receive treatment by the side of the road, with Vine then taken to hospital. <br /><br />Eurosport reported that six riders in total received further treatment in hospital.<br /><br />The series of collisions led to the stage being neutralized with 27.9km to go, with doctors responding to the crash before ambulances arrived on the scene.<br /><br />A statement from the organizers, posted on their official social media pages, said: 'The race is neutralized until the finish line, the six leading runners will compete in the stage but the stage times will not be counted for the general classification.<br /><br />'The platoon will go in neutral until the finish line.'<br /><br />The Tour de France will take place between June 29 and July 21 this year.
