We are waiting for more information from Wout van Aert, who had to give up after his second crash in the sixteenth stage of the Vuelta. Chief team leader Grischa Niermann could not say much more at the arrival at the Lago de Covadonga, except that our compatriot was immediately taken to the hospital with a bloody right knee.
Maxime Caeyman, Michael Van Damme
Today at 18:41
READ ALSO. VIDEO. Green and polka dot jersey gone: pale-faced Wout van Aert has to give up after heavy fall in the Vuelta
“I only know that Wout went to the hospital and that it didn’t look too good, other than that I have no information,” said Grischa Niermann, first team manager at Visma-Lease a Bike in the Vuelta. “Addy Engels (another team leader, ed.) was with Wout, I drove on. Wout was taken to the hospital in the ambulance, the mechanic stayed with him and our team doctor is going there now.”
“Wout fell on his knee, or against his knee, that was clear. I didn’t have any images myself on that descent, so you probably saw it better than I did. But the fact that he got into the ambulance doesn’t bode well.”
Visma-Lease a Bike is having a bad year, with Jonas Vingegaard crashing heavily in the Tour of the Basque Country and Wout van Aert crashing in Dwars door Vlaanderen. “It’s really bad, but this year it just doesn’t seem to be going our way,” sighed Niermann.
READ ALSO: Marc Soler triumphs, O’Connor saves red jersey by a handful of seconds in stage overshadowed by crash and Wout van Aert’s abandonment
