Einer Rubio (Movistar) had to quit the Tour de France only a matter of kilometres from the finish line of Alpe d'Huez on stage 19 after crashing into the back of a UAE Team Emirates-XRG car.
Movistar released a medical update following the stage to confirm his injuries, which include facial stitches, and he will be transferred to a hospital in Grenoble.
"Einer Rubio has received around 20 stitches in the face following the accident he suffered during the ascent to Alpe d'Huez," the statement read. "The Colombian is to be transferred to a hospital in Grenoble, where new tests will be carried out to determine the extent of the injuries."
Rubio, who had been in the day's breakaway, was in the second-to-last group to be passed by Tadej Pogačar on his way to winning the stage, and looked set to climb to the finish, but was then recorded as a DNF.
Video footage then emerged of Rubio crashing, at fairly high speed as the road levelled out near the top, into the back of a UAE car when it stopped abruptly in front of him.
With thousands of fans lining the climb, often encroaching on the road, it was difficult for riders and vehicles to navigate the climb even during the race, with Pogačar and others having to bat fans out of the way.
The UAE car had to stop abruptly after a spectator fell into the road in front of it, with the driver's quick reaction only narrowly avoiding running the man over in front, but it had dire consequences behind.
Rubio did not have any time to stop or swerve and collided headfirst into the car's rear window, which smashed on impact. Rubio was able to stand up and walk away from the crash, but with multiple cuts to his face and blood covering his bike, he had to climb into an ambulance instead of finish the stage.
An hour in the medical truck
Cyclingnews initially reported that Rubio spent an hour in the medical truck that is always set up at the finishes of Tour de France stages.
He emerged with several bandages on his face, and then proceeded to try and drink from a bottle of water – a necessity given the athletic effort he'd put in earlier in the day but a struggle given his injuries.
This is not the end of Rubio's treatment, and he was later taken to a hospital near Grenoble to get further attention on his wounds.
There was a debate between Movistar staff and the ASO medical personnel about how best to get Rubio off the mountain, which is still packed with fans and vehicle traffic.
Rubio eventually stepped into the race ambulance and was driven with a police escort to a helipad where he was then taken off the mountain by a helicopter.
Decathlon CMA CGM DS Luke Rowe also said he had seen the incident.
"It was ugly out there," he said to TNT Sports. "Remco got blocked and struggled to move at one point, and I saw a Movistar rider at the side of the road, tangled up in a crash, covered in blood. So it was, honestly, it was really on the limit."
Unavoidable with the behavior of some "fans" today... 🤬📹ondrej_bursa pic.twitter.com/O6kfNS743kJuly 24, 2026
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