Watch: Unseen Tour de France footage captures huge Astana crash in team time trial missed by TV cameras
Published 05/07/2026 at 13:43 GMT+1
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Remarkable footage has surfaced of a wild crash involving XDS Astana riders during the team time trial that opened the 2026 Tour de France in Barcelona on Saturday, with three riders caught up in the chaos. Watch the clip here.
Highlights: Vingegaard strikes first as Pogacar and UAE settle for third in TTT
Video credit: TNT Sports
The incident was not shown during the live broadcast, but was captured by the on-board camera mounted to the back of Davide Ballerini's bike before later being shared by the team.
With the Astana riders tucked tightly together in a line, a bump in the road suddenly caused one rider to lose control and slam into the tarmac, triggering a concertina effect that sent two team-mates crashing to the ground behind him.
The dramatic footage shows Simone Velasco, Nicolas Vinokurov and Harold Tejada all hitting the deck in quick succession. All three remounted to complete the stage.
Astana eventually finished last of the 23 teams on a bruising opening day, while Visma-Lease a Bike claimed victory as Jonas Vingegaard took the first yellow jersey of this year's Tour, which is live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.
Vinokourov later said on Instagram: "The first stage of the Tour de France and our baptism by fire are behind us. Thank God, we came through without any major losses.
"Let today’s setback be the biggest one we face in this Tour. Moments like these make us stronger, build our character, and bring us even closer together as a team."
Astana also confirmed that all three riders escaped without serious injury despite the heavy fall.
"Huge bad luck for our team with a crash of three of our riders, Simone Velasco, Nicolas Vinokourov and Harold Tejada in the first half of the distance.
"All riders finished the stage, but of course, we lost a lot of time," the team said on social media.
"No fractures or serious injuries for our riders, but they all suffered bruises and multiple extensive abrasions."
With their GC hopes already over, Astana are now expected to turn their attention to targeting stage victories over the remaining three weeks of the iconic race.
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