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Matilda Price

Tour de France abandons –158 riders make it to Paris after Ilan Van Wilder and Pascal Ackermann withdraw on stage 20

Ilan van Wilder of Soudal-QuickStep gathers himself after a crash and waits for a new bike on stage 20 .

From the original 184 riders taking the start in Barcelona, 158 completed the hectic finale in Paris on Sunday, starting with ceremonies in Thoiry then a bus transfer to Paris for an adjusted course of 89km, with three passes on Côte de la Butte Montmartre and the finish on the Champs Élysées.

The queen stage of the Tour de France featured a second consecutive ascent to Alpe d'Huez and it was where the last two of 26 riders who did not complete the three weeks of racing, Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal-QuickStep) and Pascal Ackermann (Jayco-AlUla).

Significant in the mix of general classification riders, Van Wilder had been as high as 11th position on GC after stage 17, and was 35:47 behind race leader Tadej Pogačar in 12th position to start stage 20. He was involved in a crash 40km into the 172km stage, on the descent off the first HC climb of the day at Col de la Croix de Fer and en route to an intermediate sprint.

Van Wilder was able to remount a new bike soon after a team vehicle passed. However, only 7km farther on he could not continue and abandoned the stage. He was taken to hospital later for an examination and Soudal-QuickStep said on social media "Initial assessments indicate he has sustained multiple abrasions, but thankfully no broken bones".

Ackermann abandoned the race on the slopes of the Col de la Croix-de-Fer. He spoke to German media at the team bus later about his great disappointment in not being able to finish.

As three weeks of racing takes its toll, Grand Tours often see tens of riders abandon across the 21 days and two rest days. Riders may abandon for a variety of reasons, including crashes, injuries, illness, or simply fatigue. Riders can quit mid-stage, climbing into a team car or, in the worst case, leaving in an ambulance, or they may finish the stage but decide not to start the next one.

If a rider quits mid-stage, they are recorded as 'did not finish' (DNF), and if they fail to start a stage, it's a 'did not start' (DNS).

Riders can also be made to leave the race by the commissaires or race jury, who enforce all the rules, either with a disqualification (DSQ) for serious rule infringements, or for finishing outside the time limit on a given stage (OTL). You can find out more about the time limit with our explainer.

Here, we will track all the 2026 Tour de France withdrawals, as riders drop out of the race between Barcelona and Paris.

Tour de France 2026 abandons

Stage 2

  • Clément Berthet (Groupama-FDJ United) – DNS, crash on stage 1

Stage 3

  • Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché) – DNF

Stage 4

  • Kelland O'Brien (Jayco-AlUla) - OTL

Stage 6

  • Alex Molenaar (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) - DNS, fractured finger
  • Cian Uijtdebroeks (Movistar) - DNF, illness
  • Bert Van Lerberghe (Soudal-Quickstep) - DNF
  • Arvid de Kleijn (Tudor) - DNF

Stage 7

  • Torstein Træen (Uno-X Mobility) - DNS, concussion and multiple rib fractures

Stage 10

  • Matteo Trentin (Tudor) – DNS, fever

Stage 11

  • Chris Harper (Pinarello Q36.5) – DNS, thumb injury sustained in stage 10 crash

Stage 12

  • Crash within final 5km so riders involved did not lose time, but injuries incurred set to deliver multiple DNS entries for next stage

Stage 13

  • Fernando Gaviria (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) - DNS, broken collarbone from crash on stage 12
  • Jenno Berckmoes (Lotto-Intermarché) - DNS, broken collarbone after stage 12 crash
  • Frits Biesterbos (Picnic-PostNL) - DNS

Stage 14

  • Ramses Debruyne (Alpecin-Premier Tech) - DNS, developed a fever overnight
  • Anthon Charmig (Uno-X Mobility) - OTL after crashes on stage 12 and 2

Stage 15

  • Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), DNF due to crash
  • Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quickstep), DNF
  • Tom Van Asbroeck (NSN), DNF

Stage 16

  • Lars Craps (Lotto Intermarché) - DNS
  • Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) - DNF

Stage 18

  • Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates XRG) - DNF, illness
  • Jose Felix Parra (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) - DNS

Stage 19

  • Edoardo Affini (Visma-Lease a Bike) - DNF
  • Einer Rubio (Movistar Team) - DNF

Stage 20

  • Ilan van Wilder (Soudal-QuickStep) - DNF
  • Pascal Ackermann (Jayco-AlUla) - DNF

The world’s biggest bike race deserves world-class coverage. Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our unrivalled reporting of the 2026 Tour de France. From Barcelona through to Paris, our experienced team will bring you breaking news, expert insight, and in-depth coverage from every stage as the battle for the yellow jersey plays out. Plus, access the Cyclingnews app to follow the action on the go! Find out more.

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