Visma | Lease a Bike suffers "significant sportive setback": "Milan was our key man"

Defending champion Milan Vader was at the start of the Tour of Guangxi. The Dutch climber was supposed to ride his last race in China for Visma | Lease a Bike, but after a crash in the third stage, he was forced to abandon the race. Thus, the last adventure with his team ends on a sad note.

Early in the third stage, a hill stage to Bama, Vader crashed. The consequences of the crash were so severe that he could not get back on his bike. He had fallen on his knee and was suffering considerably, his team reported on X. "Unfortunately, Milan was involved in the early crash and abandoned the race with an injured knee. More info will come later. We wish you a speedy recovery, Milan!" The Dutchman was not the only one who had to abandon the race. Favorite Jhonatan Narváez (INEOS Grenadiers) also dropped out.

Leaving the Tour of Guangxi is a double disappointment for Vader. Last year, the ex-mountain biker was the best in the Chinese WorldTour race. He won the queen stage to Nongla by staying ahead of Rémy Rochas (Cofidis) and consolidated his lead in the final stages to secure the overall victory. For him, the stage and final wins are still the only victories of his professional career.

Vader disappointed by early withdrawal: "I was really looking forward to it"

On the team website, both team leader Frans Maassen and the rider himself react to the unfortunate withdrawal. "Milan had a deep wound under his left knee. It was immediately clear that he could not continue," says Maassen. "Our own doctor stitched him up in the hotel. That went well and fortunately he is already walking around here again." Maassen is relieved that the damage to Vader is relatively minor. "Sportive-wise it's a big bummer, because Milan was our leading man. On the other hand, we realise it could have been much worse."

Then Vader comments on his withdrawal. "I looked at my knee and knew right away that I didn't need to try any further. I'm glad no one was more seriously injured because it didn't look good at first," he says, relieved that all involved escaped relatively unscathed. The crash happened during a descent. "Someone next to me hit a wheel in front of him and came up against me. I couldn't avoid him anymore, so we were among the first to crash."

As a result, Vader cannot defend his title in Guangxi. "I was really looking forward to it. The exciting days were yet to come. It is a shame that I had to abandon the race early." The withdrawal is especially bitter because it was his last race with his employer. He is moving to Q36.5 Pro Cycling, where he will be racing with, among others, Sjoerd Bax. There, he will have more opportunities to pursue personal success. "I’m really motivated to join Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team. If you look at the team and there’s a forward movement, the equipment is great and it looks super professional," Vader said about his transfer earlier.