Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) has told Danish outlet BT that he suffered a concussion in his crash at Paris-Nice, and that he spent a week off the bike after the incident.
"After the crash I was dizzy, and after the stage I got very nauseous and was incredibly tired, which continued for the next several days," he said.
"I'm happy to be back on the bike, even though it took a little longer than hoped, due to my concussion, which has required a lot of rest."
Vingegaard was leading the general classification in the French stage race when he hit the deck early on stage 5. He remounted but was clearly impacted by the fall. After finishing the stage – in which he lost time and ceded the race lead to his teammate Matteo Jorgenson – Vinegaard did not start the following day's stage. Jorgenson went on to win the race.
Vingegaard told BT that he did not get back on the bike for a week after the day of the crash.
"I rode my bike for the first time on Thursday [March 20] and I'm still taking it very easy," he said.
The concussion marks the second time in as many years that Vingegaard has been injured in a March crash. Although one week off the bike may not be quite as much of a layoff as Vingegaard's lengthy recovery from the numerous injuries he suffered in his Itzulia Basque Country crash last year, no brain injury is insignificant, and the extent to which it will impact Vingegaard's season remains to be seen.
One thing is for certain: Vingegaard had been planning to race the Volta a Catalunya, which got underway on Monday, but the crash forced him to change those plans. He and the team must now decide whether to consider adding any races to his calendar before the Critérium du Dauphiné in June.
As Vingegaard said, "Right now we're taking it day by day and letting the rehabilitation determine whether we need to make further changes or additions to my program."
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