John Degenkolb, Philippe Gilbert and Rafael Valls out of 2020 Tour de France

Rafael Valls of the Bahrain McLaren team and John Degenkolb of Lotto-Soudal are out of the 2020 Tour de France after crashes in the first stage. Lotto Soudal also reports that Philippe Gilbert is in pain after a crash.

Rafael Valls

Unfortunately, Rafa Valls has withdrawn from Le Tour de France after fracturing his right femur in a crash during today’s opening stage.

All eight riders fought successfully through most of today’s stage, despite the adverse weather conditions. However, Rafa was caught up in a highspeed crash on the Promenade des Anglais with just 3 km to the finish line.

Rafa was taken to hospital and has undergone surgery on his fractured femur, plus treatment for superficial wounds he sustained on his right shoulder, elbow, and knee – confirmed Team Doctor Carlo Guardascione.

Everyone on the team, at the Tour and beyond, wishes Rafa a speedy recovery.

We will have further updates on his condition when they are available.

John Degenkolb

Rain and slippery roads caused a number of crashes during the first stage of the Tour de France. Worst team victim was John Degenkolb. He crashed on his both knees with 65 km to go, managed to finish the race alone and arrived some minutes out of time limit. The jury applied the rule strictly and John Degenkolb’s Tour de France is over.

X-rays didn’t reveal any fracture but to start in stage 2 would have been difficult anyway.

“The problem is especially my right knee, but the knee cap is okay,” said John Degenkolb. “There was however a big impact on the bursa and the knee is swollen. I am deeply disappointed to leave the Tour like this, especially on the first day. There is nothing we can do. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I think that also for my health it is better to go home. The season is not over yet.”

Philippe Gilbert was involved in a bad crash as well and finished 11 minutes behind and was brought to hospital to check his left knee. At this moment (10.45 PM) he is still in hospital.

Philippe Gilbert

Saturday night investigations at the Clinique Saint-Jean in Cagnes-sur-Mer revealed a broken kneecap of the left knee of Philippe Gilbert. The Lotto Soudal rider will be unable to take the start in stage two of the Tour de France.

“I was riding around position 20 in the peloton when they crashed in front of me”, explained Philippe Gilbert. “I managed to escape that crash. I passed two, three fallen riders and thought to be safe, but then they crashed again, and this time I couldn’t avoid them anymore. We were lying there with 10-15 guys… Immediately I tried to get up, but that was impossible. I’ve waited there some two minutes, leaning against a guardrail. Then I left alone without being able to really push on the pedals. In a small group of dropped riders, I managed to finish, without being able to help the others. I was in pain. A pain I recognized from 2018…”

The pain that the former world champion was going through can only be imagined after he was diagnosed with a fracture of the same knee cap. In the 2018 Tour de France, Philippe Gilbert broke indeed the same patella after a crash in the descent of the Portet d’Aspet.

After the finish in Nice and the first medical aid by team doctor Jens De Decker, Gilbert was brought to the medical truck where X-rays did not reveal a major problem. An MRI in the hospital however revealed a fracture.

“Was it the fracture of two years ago or a new one? We would only be sure after an ultrasonography. There a fresh fracture was diagnosed. The good news is that it’s a fracture without displacement. First, we feared problems with tendons and ligaments. The doctor of the hospital, who took his time for us and stayed with us until 11 PM, spoke about an immobility period of two-three weeks. It could have been worse.”