Bardet out of Tour after suffering concussion in stage 13 crash
Romain Bardet will not start stage 14 of the Tour de France after suffering a concussion in a crash on stage 13.
His AG2R La Mondiale team announced the news on Friday after a difficult day in the Massif Central.
“This stage on my home roads was the complete opposite of what I had hoped for. The crash was severe, downhill at high speed, and I struggled all the rest of the day,” Bardet said in a press release from the team.
“The medical examinations confirmed what I already suspected, and I am not able to continue in the race.”
Bardet, Nairo Quintana, and Bauke Mollema all went down in a crash near the midpoint of the stage from Châtel-Guyon to Pas de Peyrol. Mollema left the race with a broken wrist, while Quintana and Bardet remounted and rejoined the pack. Bardet lost touch with the GC riders in the difficult finale, however, and ultimately hit the line over two minutes behind race leader Primoz Roglic.
After the stage, Bardet underwent a brain scan at a hospital in nearby Clermont-Ferrand. Fortunately, the CET scan did not show any brain lesions, but Bardet will not be able to continue at the Tour.
2020 will mark the first time Bardet has ever pulled out of his home Grand Tour.
AG2R’s head doctor said that a timetable for Bardet’s return would depend on “the evolution of his condition.”
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