La Vuelta a Espana: ‘Probably my helmet saved my life’ – Thymen Arensman out of race after horror Stage 7 crash

Ineos Grenadiers’ Thymen Arensman believes that his helmet may have saved his life in a crash on Friday at La Vuelta a Espana.

The 23-year-old Dutchman was involved in a heavy fall in Stage 7 when just five kilometres from the finish line in Oliva.

He was part of a high-speed accident which took down several riders, with the youngster unable to avoid stricken cyclists in front of him.

Video and photos showed Arensman prostrate on the road, giving cause for concern over his health after a number of serious accidents for riders over recent times, and with growing calls for increased safety measures from many riders on the tour.

The medical team at the Vuelta lifted Arensman onto a stretcher before taking him to hospital for scans on his spine and skull.

Writing on his Instagram account, the Ineos man revealed that there was likely no serious long-term damage he would have to contend with.

“I am unbelievably lucky, I think. Apart from a bit of pain everywhere, my head hurts and missing a tooth it looks like nothing broken, so far,” Arensman posted.

“I can’t remember anything from what happened and woke up in the hospital, I must have been out for a few hours. I am not my most handsome self anymore with stitches and injuries to my face and missing a tooth, but I’ll take it. Probably my helmet saved my life.”

“I’m relatively OK,” he added. “I’ll be cheering for my teammates now while trying to recover to full health. Adios.”

Arsneman had finished in sixth in 2023’s Giro d’Italia, and also finished sixth in last year’s Vuelta. He was seen as Ineos’ best hope alongside the veteran Geraint Thomas.

Ineos have also lost climber Laurens de Plus from their squad so far, and Thomas is approximately three minutes behind the leading general classification group formed of Primoz Roglic, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel.