Two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard will race the Clasica San Sebastian on Saturday, returning to the region where he had a narrow brush with death in April.
The Danish rider fell and broke a collarbone and ribs, puncturing a lung, on a fast downhill section, saying later he almost died and spending two weeks in hospital.
But on Saturday the Visma-Lease-a-Bike rider will contest the one-day Clasica San Sebastian.
“It will be special to return to the Basque Country after everything that happened a few months ago. Fortunately, I also have many good memories of that region,” said the 27-year-old adding he was aiming to win.
The race is 236km long with seven climbs including a 2km wall 7km from the finish line.
Neither double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel nor Tour de France and Giro champion Tadej Pogacar take part, as they focus on the world championships.
Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz, Pello Bilbao, British rider Simon Yates. Quoick Step pair Mikel Landa and Julian Alaphilippe as well as Clovenian Primoz Roglic will all be there.
