"It's not looking very good": Bernal, Poels and Van Gils (still) relatively unscathed after crash, Lemmen is not

The first stage of the Tour of Catalonia did not go unnoticed. Representing Israel-Premier Tech, Nick Schultz surprisingly beat top favorite Tadej Pogacar with an attack in the final kilometer, but even before that, a lot had already happened in the opening stage of the WorldTour race.

Visma | Lease a Bike saw Bart Lemmen drop out. The Dutchman, who had started the year off so well in the Tour Down Under and UAE Tour, was transported to the hospital, his team announced. He also did not finish in the Spanish stage race. "It's not looking very good considering his injuries. We have to wait and see what the verdict will be," team director Marc Reef said in a press release from the team.

After further examinations in the hospital, the verdict came on Tuesday morning: "Bart has broken his collarbone in his crash during the opening stage of the Tour of Catalonia," said Visma | Lease a Bike in a brief statement. "We wish you a speedy recovery, Bart!"

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Kruijswijk gets pushed by Romo 

Steven Kruijswijk was also involved in a minor incident. The experienced climber, like much of the peloton, was stationary following a crash involving, among others, Maxim Van Gils, when he suddenly received a push from Movistar rider Javier Romo. Wisely, Kruijswijk quickly moved away from the Spaniard. Representing the Dutch team, Sepp Kuss finished ninth: "It was still quite a tough day. This way, we could get into things nicely. As a team, we were there when it was necessary. I myself feel in good shape. I am very much looking forward to the mountain stages this week. There are quite a few of them," Kuss said, who, like co-leader Uijtdebroeks, feels good.

"Nevertheless, it was a very hectic day. The main thing for Sepp and me was to avoid unnecessary time losses. That was successful, partly thanks to the team's effort. In the finale, the pace shot up, and I noticed that my legs felt very good. That is promising for the coming days," said the Belgian.

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Steven Kruijswijk gets pushed by Movistar rider Javier Romo

Among others, Van Gils, Poels and Bernal involved in crashes

Van Gils, who extended his contract with Lotto-Dstny on Monday, sustained visible damage to his wrist from the crash. The Belgian, who was seventh in Milan-San Remo on Saturday, crossed the finish line almost sixteen minutes behind winner Schultz in the second to last place in the opening stage of the Tour of Catalonia. Initially, Lotto-Dstny decided to withdraw Van Gils from the race, but a night's sleep and lots of treatments worked wonders, the team states. "Maxim immediately received medical assistance from our doctors and physio treatments. By morning, the pain in the wrist had lessened, along with medication. It was decided to start, and the team will monitor how his wrist holds up."

In the final kilometer, there was also a crash involving, among others, Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) and the Bahrain Victorious duo of Wout Poels and Damiano Caruso. Both Bahrain men are relatively unscathed and will start in the second stage of the stage race, the Middle Eastern team reports. Bernal also reached the finish, with abrasions and bruises. The organizers were lenient enough not to count the time losses incurred by the fallen riders. Simon Yates and Hugh Carthy lost 59 seconds.

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