Mikel Landa had to go to the hospital. © AFP / MARCO BERTORELLO

Accident involving race doctor's car: Professional cyclist in hospital

Spanish professional cyclist Mikel Landa has been taken to hospital after a collision with a race doctor's car during the Tour of the Basque Country.

08 April 2026

From: dpa/det

His team announced that examinations revealed no broken bones or permanent damage. However, the three-time Giro d'Italia stage winner will not participate in the 65th edition of the race "so that his body can fully recover," the team stated before the start of the third stage.

On the second stage, in which German rising star Florian Lipowitz climbed to third place overall, 36-year-old Landa suffered a serious crash on the descent of the last official climb after colliding with a car. Despite this, the Basque rider still managed to finish the stage in 67th place.

Criticism from team boss

"The doctor's car simply rammed Mikel Landa off the track on a narrow and fast descent," team boss Jürgen Foré told the newspaper. Het Nieuwsblad. “We haven’t received an apology,” he criticized. “We do everything for safety, and then things like this happen.”

According to the newspaper, the driver of the car has been expelled from the race by race officials. He also received a yellow card and must pay a fine of 500 Swiss francs. While accidents involving support vehicles are not uncommon in cycling races, collisions with medical personnel are rare.