*** ----> Cras ‘almost died’ in Basque Country horror crash | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Cras ‘almost died’ in Basque Country horror crash

AFP | Madrid                                         

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Belgian cyclist Steff Cras said he was convinced he was about to die as he flew off the road in a mass crash at the Tour of the Basque Country last week.

Cras, who rides for TotalEnergies, was one of several riders, including two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard and 2022 Vuelta champion Remco Evenepoel, who were hospitalised after the fall on a downhill corner on April 4.

“I almost died. I realised when I saw the concrete block that I’d be dead within 20 centimetres,” said Cras in an interview quoted by Belgian newspaper La Derniere Heure yesterday.

“Honestly, I was very lucky.” The 28-year-old suffered lung damage and four broken ribs in the fall.

“I was scared to death because I couldn’t breathe for 30 seconds,” he said. “I only had one functioning lung.”

He left hospital in San Sebastian on Monday and said he was due to undergo tests in a Belgian hospital yesterday, “hoping that they do not find any other injuries”.