Tour de France: Jonas Vingegaard crashes out of race from second place and suffers fractured collarbone
Jonas Vingegaard exits Tour de France at stage 15 after heavy crash; two-time former champion will undergo surgery on collarbone injury; Vingegaard was woken at 2am for unannounced doping test before 15th stage
Sunday 19 July 2026 18:53, UK
Two-time Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard crashed out of this year's race from second place overall, as Belgium's Remco Evenepoel won Sunday's mountainous 15th stage.
The Dane, who trailed leader Tadej Pogacar by four-and-a-half minutes, came down on a tight bend inside the final 25km of the stage which finished on the summit of Plateau de Solaison.
Vingegaard's Visma LeaseABike team confirmed he suffered a fractured collarbone in the crash and will need surgery in the coming days.
Vingegaard, winner of the race in 2022 and 2023, was treated briefly on the tarmac before being walked into an ambulance with his shoulder immobilised.
The 29-year-old's exit saw Evenepoel promoted to second overall, five minutes behind Pogacar ahead of Monday's final rest day, and the Belgian went on to claim his first career road-stage win on the Tour - his two previous successes having come in time trials.
Vingegaard's crash came after the Dane was controversially woken up at 2am for an unannounced anti-doping test, with the Giro d'Italia winner complaining about a loss of sleep in pre-stage interviews.
Pogacar was himself tested at 5am but though he said he had been unable to get back to sleep afterwards, the Slovenian downplayed the impact it had on him. But in his post-stage interview, Pogacar was quick to mention the anti-doping controls when asked about Vingegaard's crash.
"It's really really sad to see that Jonas is out," Pogacar said. "Since 2021 we were always battling out for the victory. Maybe in the beginning we didn't have the best relationship but in the last two years we became good rivals and I also think friends. The Tour will not be the same without him.
"It got me thinking - before today we had doping control at two in the morning. Maybe this is a reason, one night your sleep is ruined, maybe a little bit less concentration in the descent and then his Tour is ruined. I don't blame that but it could be a little bit connected."
On the steep gradients to the finish Pogacar was trying to set up a second stage win for his UAE Team Emirates-XRG team-mate Isaac del Toro.
But, on terrain not normally suited to him, Evenepoel stuck to their wheels and responded to both of Del Toro's attacks inside the final kilometre to take the win just ahead of Pogacar as Del Toro faded.
"It's amazing," Evenepoel said. "I'm literally trembling from emotions. It's been a hell of a day. It was pretty hard at the start. I was feeling really bad in the beginning but I got better.
"You have to understand I'm racing with the best rider ever. He was doing a hell of a climb to try to win the stage with Isaac. For me it's a big step forward that I can follow this pace. It was a crazy hard pace.
"I get so many critics saying I cannot survive steep climbs and it feels amazing for myself and for everybody around me. It means a lot."
Evenepoel sits five minutes adrift of Pogacar going into Monday's rest day and then Tuesday's time trial - a day he would already have been targeting.
Del Toro missed out on the stage but moved up to third, taking the best young rider's jersey from French teenager Paul Seixas, 25 seconds further back in fourth.
