Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe manager Ralph Denk has claimed that the head and elbow injuries sustained by Aleksandr Vlasov in a heavy crash into a ditch during the ninth stage of the Tour de France were “minor things” – after cycling fans, riders, and commentators expressed their horror and dismay as a clearly dazed Vlasov was allowed tocarry on racing so soon after the serious spill, which broke his bike in pieces andsaw him suffer an ultimately race-ending broken ankle.
Vlasov, who was sitting in 11th place overall at this year’s Tour heading into the rest day while working for Red Bull-Bora team leader Primož Roglič’s yellow jersey aspirations, was forced to pull out of the race on Mondayafternoon, after his team confirmed that he had suffered a fractured ankle during Sunday’s stage around Troyes.
The Russian stage racer appeared to touch a wheel while riding in the main group of favourites with 50km to go of thespectacularly entertaining stage on the Champagne regions’ gravel roads, won by TotalEnergies’ Anthony Turgis.
The 28-year-old’s nasty crash, which took place on a section of tarmac between two of the stage’s 14 gravel sectors, saw him slide out of the bunch and land heavily in a ditch.
🏁50km
Nasty crash for Aleksandr Vlasov 🤕#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/jAQKv3koe3
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 7, 2024
However, as Vlasov got back to his feet, with a bloodied elbow and ankle, he appeared extremely dazed and unsteady, initially attempting and failing to swing his leg over his spare bike, which was being held by one of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s mechanics.
After leaning over his bike for a moment, Vlasov then gingerly remounted and was pushed off by the mechanic, before beingtreated from their car by the Tour’s medical staff, who appeared to be focusing on his elbow and ankle.
The former Tour deRomandiewinnereventually finished25th in Troyes, safely ensconced within the main group of GC contenders including his leader Roglič, Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, and yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar.
The severity of the crash was underlined by a photo, posted by Vlasov on his Instagram account on Tuesday morning, of his broken and battered S-Works, which appeared to have cracked in three different places as it collided with the ditch:
(Credit:Aleksandr Vlasov, Instagram)
The swiftness of Vlasov’s return to the fray, on a stage already made additionally dangerous by the controversial inclusion of 32km of off-road sections, and the worrying scenes that followed his heavy fall, led to strong criticism of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s decision to let their Russian rider continue without a proper health and concussion check.
“Tell me Vlasov has not just been put back on his bike when he couldn’t even stand straight. Tell me that didn’t just happen,” Eurosport’s cycling presenter Orla Chennaoui tweeted in the immediate aftermath of Vlasov’s crash.
“As a doctor this made me cringe,” added Helen Metcalfe. “Very dangerous to let him back on the bike. Where are the medics to advise?”
>UCI publishes new concussion protocol as other sports face lawsuits from retired athletes
Others noted that Vlasov had exhibited “observable signs” of concussion in the immediate aftermath of the crash, as outlined in the UCI’s concussion protocol, including ‘balance impairment’.
“Vlasov should not get back on the bike. I’d bet a good amount of money that he doesn’t start tomorrow because of a concussion. The fact that he’s allowed back on the bike is ridiculous,” said former pro-turned-commentator Jens Dekker.
That prognosis was echoed by Ineos Grenadiers riders Geraint Thomas and Laurens De Plus, who claimed that Vlasov was vomiting while riding in the bunch towards the end of the stage in Troyes.
Speaking on their Watts Occurring podcast, 2018 Tour winner Thomas said: “I was right next to him when that happened, I was on his right. It was on a normal road, on a descent, and it was fast.
“I went off the road, actually, to avoid his bike and some flying bottles. That was heavy, and I was surprised to see him back.”
Belgian climber De Plus added: “He must have had concussion or something.”
“He was puking up as well, he was being sick, wasn’t he?” asked Thomas.
“Yeah, with 4km to go, you were sitting in Vlasov’s wheel and he was puking in front of you, and I was ‘did you see that?’” said De Plus. “I don’t think he’ll feel well today.”
Meanwhile, Thomas concluded: “Surely if they have any sort of concussion protocol, he’ll be out of the race.”
However, as part of the German-speaking ‘Inside Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’ podcast, the team’s founder and general manager Ralph Denk downplayed the risk of concussion after Vlasov’s crash, instead emphasising his concerns about his rider’s ankle, which has ultimately led to his withdrawal from the race on the rest day.
“His head, where he was bleeding, and his elbow, I think these are minor things,” Denk said.
“I’m a bit worried about his ankle, which will be examined more closely, because when he came back to the bus he was limping quite a bit. It looked like a riding error, he crashes and lies in the ditch. Luckily the ditch was overgrown with grass.”
Unfortunately, Aleks Vlasov will leave the Tour de France due to an ankle fracture. Heal up soon, Aleks 🙏🏻 #tdf2024 pic.twitter.com/yhzf8nGFAR
— Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe (@RBH_ProCycling) July 8, 2024
Denk’s fears were then confirmed on Monday afternoon, as Red Bull announced that Vlasov has been forced to leave the race on the first rest day due to an ankle fracture.
>"Should not have finished": Boss of Swiss cycling team admits they got Stefan Küng crash wrong
Nevertheless, the debate surrounding the Russian’s crash on Sunday echoed the concerns that were raised following Stefan Küng’s horror crash into the barriers at last year’s European time trial championships.
Küng smashed into roadside barriers while riding for a few seconds with his head tucked down, but quickly remounted and finished the event bloodied and with damage to his helmet.
The crash prompted former UCI president Brian Cookson to call for a crackdown on what he described as the current “crazy” head-down time trialling position favoured by many pros, but also raised rider welfare questions as many suggested Küng should not have been allowed to continue after such a major impact, which saw him suffer a concussion, a fractured cheekbone and multiple hand fractures.
Days after the crash, Swiss Cycling’s sports manager admitted the rider should never have been allowed to continue, but pointed to logistical issues that allowed it to happen and make stopping a rider “almost impossible”.
