Vingegaard escapes danger

There were scary moments in the fifth stage of the 2026 Tour de France : Jonas Vingegaard was involved in a crash in the final part of the stage, just a few kilometers from the finish in Pau, and was forced to complete the stage on teammate Victor Campenaerts ' bike. It was an episode that could have been catastrophic, but thanks to the team's quick response, it ended in the best possible way.

Visma-Lease a Bike sports director Marc Reef explained the tense situation to reporters on the team bus: "We heard that Jonas was involved in the crash. He immediately grabbed Victor Campenaerts' bike, the guys pulled really hard for him, and in the end we all reached the finish line at the same time."

Reef added: "We knew that corner was tricky, with the pavement on the right side. We had identified it. We were well positioned, but in the chaos of the crash, Jonas had to change bikes. We pushed all the way and we all arrived together."

The crash occurred just outside the 5km protected zone , the worst possible time for a crash in a sprinters' stage. Several riders from Soudal-QuickStep and Caja Rural were involved in the incident. Vingegaard crossed the finish line in 53rd place , but with the same 14-second gap as Tadej Pogačar and the other top riders over stage winner Olav Kooij .

As Reef explained to Sporza: "There were riders everywhere in between, there wasn't a three-second gap. There was about ten seconds between Pogačar and Jonas, but with riders in between. So everyone was given the same time." Campenaerts, left without his bike after the swap, was instead 4 minutes and 50 seconds behind.

The good news for the Dane's fans—and for those who have him on their fantasy cycling team—is that Vingegaard arrived virtually unharmed : the finish line footage showed no obvious signs of injury. This is a huge relief, considering that Thursday features a crucial stage for the general classification, with the Col d'Aspin and the legendary Col du Tourmalet .

A bit of fantasy cycling: those who had Vingegaard on their team can breathe a sigh of relief. The Dane survived one of the Tour's most dangerous episodes unscathed, and is fully intact for the first real mountain stage. Visma once again demonstrated impeccable tactical management in emergency situations: a factor not to be underestimated in the decisive stages that await the peloton.