Jonas Vingegaard abandons Paris-Nice after stage 5 crash

Two-time Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard has withdrawn from Paris-Nice after suffering a crash on Thursday's fifth stage.

The Visma-Lease a Bike rider fell with 84km to go on the stage, cutting his upper lip, and appearing to hurt his wrist.

The Dane's team confirmed on Friday morning that he will not take the start on stage six.

"Our medical staff has decided that it is best for him to recover from yesterday's crash at home and focus on his next goals for the season," Visma-Lease a Bike said in a statement.

Vingegaard was leading Paris-Nice at the time of his crash, but ended up losing 26 seconds on a steep finish, ceding his yellow jersey to teammate Matteo Jorgenson.

After the stage, the Dane was pictured by TV cameras in discomfort, holding his wrist as he was examined by a team doctor.

"He told me that he thought his hand was possibly broken," Jorgenson said post-race. "It was really painful for him and I know he had a hard time braking and a hard time holding his handlebars.

"He told me just to go for it myself and that he'd try and do his best," the American continued. "We tried to get him back in the race but he seemed to be in a lot of pain."

Victor Campenaerts, also of Visma-Lease a Bike, said Vingegaard told him he was experiencing "dizziness" during the stage.

"Given the circumstances, it's very impressive that he finished this stage. I didn't get the impression that he was very lucid," Campenaerts told Sporza.

The team is yet to confirm any of the Dane's injuries.

The crash came almost a year to the day Vingegaard was involved in a high-speed incident at Itzulia Basque Country, which left him with broken ribs, a broken collarbone, and a punctured lung. He spent almost two weeks in hospital at the time, where he underwent surgery on his fractures.

Vingegaard returned to racing three months after the crash at the Tour de France, where he won a stage, and eventually finished second to Tadej Pogačar.

The Slovenian, too, was recently involved in a crash, sliding out into a ditch during last Saturday's Strade Bianche. He went on to remount his bike and win the race.

Three stages still remain at this year's Paris-Nice, which comes to a close on Sunday. Friday's stage six offers a mostly flat course, stretching out over 210km to Berre L'Étang.

Following Vingegaard's withdrawal, Jorgenson leads the race by 36 seconds over Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's Florian Lipowitz, who has jumped from third to second in the overall standings.