Tour de France crash and concussion cases expose limits of roadside checks

Eight riders abandoned the 2026 Tour de France since its start on July 4 in Barcelona, three due to concussion: Frenchman Clément Berthet, Dutch rider Alex Molenaar, and Norwegian Torstein Traeen. All three finished their stages before being diagnosed, highlighting the limitations of the current UCI concussion protocol. Xavier Bigard, UCI medical director, called the situation unsatisfactory. The protocol, introduced in 2021, requires crash assessment by the first responder, but cases like Romain Bardet's in 2020 reveal systemic gaps.