After reports emerged that its rider, Nathan Van Hooydonck, had been involved in a serious road traffic crash early on Tuesday, and had to be resuscitated at the scene, Jumbo Visma has offered a positive update on his condition.
The news came after Jumbo Visma's riders at La Vuelta faced an emotional day, not knowing how their team mate was. Jonas Vingegaard won the stage and was clearly thinking of Van Hooydonck as he claimed the victory, which he dedicated to the Belgian.
However, the team has now confirmed Van Hooydonck is awake and has suffered no injuries from the crash. However, he needs tests to establish the nature of the medical emergency that appeared to cause him to accelerate unintentionally and crash into other cars at a junction in the Antwerp region.
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"Nathan Van Hooydonck is awake and doesn’t suffer injuries because of the traffic accident earlier today. His health situation is not critical," the team said of the crash in which Van Hooydonck's wife, who is pregnant, also emerged uninjured.
"Further medical examinations have to determine why Nathan became unwell while driving his car. We want to thank everyone for the messages and the medical staff in the hospital for taking such good care of Nathan and his family."
At La Vuelta, Vingegaard attacked on the final climb to the finish line in Bejes at the end of stage 16 today to win solo. He put 1:01 into his nearest general classification rivals, and a little more into others, including his team mate who is leading the race.
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⚡️ Vingegaard flies up Bejes to close the gap on teammate Sepp Kuss in the GC.?️ Relive stage 1️⃣6️⃣#LaVuelta23 pic.twitter.com/qjxrGkwoSI
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Vingegaard has now leapfrogged team mate, Primož Roglič, into 2nd place and is only 29 seconds down on race leader, Sepp Kuss, having trailed him by 2:50 at the end of the first week of racing.
"I would like to dedicate this victory to my best friend,” said an emotional Vingegaard of Van Hooydonck after his win today, his second stage victory of the race. "We heard the news just before the start this morning. On days like this, it's not easy to keep the focus on cycling.
"I knew that I wanted to win for Nathan. I am happy with this win, but my thoughts are with him. I hope Nathan will be back to his old self soon. He always sacrifices himself for others. He and I have spent a lot of time together over the past few years, and I've built up a good relationship with him. He is always there for me. I hope that Nathan and his wife will be all right soon.”
