While most of the cycling world’s attention was fixed to the Giro d’Italia where a massive crash on the rain-slick roads en route to Napoli took down a large number of riders, a huge portion of the entire peloton at the Tour de Hongrie suffered a similar fate.
While the organisers of the Giro d’Italia neutralised the stage for the overall classification and left the sprinters to fight it out only for stage honours, the Tour de Hongrie continued on with Danny van Poppel winning the stage despite losing three of his Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe riders in the wreck.
Van Poppel was riding at the front of the peloton with 123km to go in a straight but wind-swept section of road when a teammate – either by a gust of wind or a moment of inattention – drifted off the tarmac and his wheel dropped into the dirt and he lost control.
The fall at the head of the bunch sparked a massive chain reaction, with riders spilling into the culverts on both sides of the road. Only riders at the very back or a dozen or so at the front missed falling.
Sam Welsford, Ryan Mullen and Frederik Wandahl of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe were forced to abandon, with Wandahl the worst off. He was taken by helicopter to hospital in Székesfehérvár and is in stable condition according to race organisers.
Pablo Torres (UAE Team Emirates XRG) suffered a concussion and was also transported to hospital for observation. Rainer Kepplinger and Max van der Meulen (Bahrain Victorious), Rui Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates XRG), and Toon Clynhens (Flanders – Baloise) were the other riders to abandon during the stage.
Welsford and Mullen suffered “painful abrasions” according to their team but no fractures, while Wandahl is in the hospital under observation.
Van Poppel went on to win the stage and extend his lead in the Tour de Hongrie, but was thinking of his injured teammates.
“It’s a day of mixed emotions. Of course, I’m really happy about the win – especially on a day like this,” Van Poppel said. “At the same time, my thoughts are with my teammates, and I wish them a speedy recovery. We’ll keep pushing on in the race.”
