Crashes and their consequences have been all too omnipresent an issue in this year’s Itzulia Basque Country, but on Saturday at least at the stage start, there was an upbeat moment about one dating back to the 2022 race.
Two years ago Dutchman Milan Vader had a terrible accident in the Itzulia Basque Country, breaking his spine in eleven places and spending 12 days in an induced coma in a hospital in Bilbao.
But after first learning to walk again then continuing his rehabilitation to the point where he could first ride a bike and then return to pro racing, on Saturday the Visma -Lease A Bike racer had an emotional re-encounter with the race doctor who first attended him and in the process saved his life.
Watched and applauded by his teammates, Vader and medic Tomas Rodriguez hugged and talked on the podium prior to the stage start in Eibar.
The crash itself took place on stage 5 of the 2022 race. With about 100 kilometres left to race, the Dutchman fell with several other riders on a left-hand bend, and went over a crash barrier into a ravine.
Vader could recover though, after a long process of rehabilitation and in 2023 the Dutchman took his first pro win, a stage in the Guangxi Tour, prior to winning it outright.
In an interview with Sporza.be earlier this week in the race - and prior to his teammate Jonas Vingegaard being caught up and forced to abandon with multiple injuries in stage 4's terrible mass crash - Vader said that he had been back to the Basque Country several times since his accident.
"I have been here at least three times since the fall. It just feels good. Subconsciously I like to come back here," he said.
