Steven Kruijswijk has suffered a fractured pelvis and collarbone after crashing out of the Critérium du Dauphiné in the opening kilometres of stage 2 to La Chaise-Dieu, making it all but certain he will not be taking part in the Tour de France this July.
The Jumbo-Visma rider was among the fallers in a crash that also saw Steff Cras (Total Energies) and Romain Combaud (Team DSM) abandon the race.
Kruijswijk had been expected to be a key team player for Jumbo-Visma in next month’s Tour de France, where teammate Jonas Vingegaard lines out as defending champion. Kruijswijk, who placed third overall at the 2019 Tour, crashed out of last year’s race on stage 15 to Carcassonne.
DSM also reported post-stage that Combaud had suffered major injuries in the crash, suffering a broken collarbone and shoulder blade. Cras has suffered a broken elbow, meanwhile.
The 35-year-old had been named in Jumbo-Visma’s provisional line-up for this year’s Tour alongside Vingegaard, Wout van Aert, Sepp Kuss, Christophe Laporte, Dylan van Baarle, Tiesj Benoot and Nathan Van Hooydonck.
Wilco Kelderman, who was ruled out of last month’s Giro d’Italia through injury, is the first reserve for Jumbo-Visma’s Tour de France line-up and may now have to step up to replace Kruijswijk.
Jumbo-Visma directeur sportif Merijn Zeeman confirmed at the weekend that Giro d'Italia winner Primož Roglič will not race the Tour de France, with the Slovenian instead set to focus on the Vuelta a España and Il Lombardia in the latter part of the season.
“Before the season we pencilled in that he would also ride the Vuelta, so that is certainly a viable option,” Zeeman told Algemeen Dagblad. “Primož would also really like to ride and win Il Lombardia. He certainly has those qualities.”
Jumbo-Visma have dispatched the bulk of their Tour squad to the Dauphiné, where Vingegaard is putting the finishing touches to his preparation for July. Van Aert will race at next week’s Tour de Suisse, while Kuss, who played a key role in Roglič’s Giro win, is not expected to race again until the Tour.
