Tour de France Stage 16: Jens Voigt Crash Photo

jens voigt crash

In a sight no one ever wants to see, Jens Voigt of Germany had to be rushed to a hospital after a brutal and bloody crash Tuesday at the Tour de France.

Jens Voigt, who temporarily lost consciousness, was forced to withdraw from the race after falling from his bike near the end of the 16th stage, while making the descent from the Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard.

“He lost consciousness for three to four minutes. He has injuries mainly to his face and when he gets to hospital in Grenoble he will be having a full scan,” official race doctor Gerard Porte told Agence France-Presse.

The 37-year-old teammate of yellow jersey contender Andy Schleck, is the second member of team Saxo Bank to crash out of the Tour in a week. Kurt-Asle Arvesen had to drop out after crashing in an attempt to avoid a spectator during the 10th stage last Tuesday.

“I only saw Jens Voigt after the crash and he looked very, very bad,” Saxo Bank team director Bjarne Riis told AFP. “It’s not nice to lose a rider like this, but these are things which happen in a race and you have to accept them.”

“I am just concerned with Jens’ health right now.”