Lotto rider Van Boven forced out of Vuelta after finishing stage with collapsed lung and broken ribs

The Lotto-Intermarché rider crashed late in the stage after XDS Astana's Alessandro Romele jumped over a speed bump before colliding with Van Boven, sending him towards the kerb. Van Boven hit the ground heavily and was visibly in considerable pain in the immediate aftermath.

Remarkably, he was able to get back on his bike and complete the stage, eventually crossing the line as the final finisher, more than 33 minutes behind stage winner Andreas Leknessund.

Only after the finish did the full extent of Van Boven’s injuries become clear. Hospital examinations confirmed the 26-year-old had fractured two ribs and sustained a collapsed lung.

Van Boven was kept in hospital overnight for further observation and will not start Saturday’s eighth stage. The team said he will continue to be closely monitored as he begins his recovery.

“We are sad to lose a precious teammate and such positive personality around the team. We wish Luca lots of strength and a speedy recovery,” Lotto-Intermarché stated on social media on Friday night.

For Lotto-Intermarché, Van Boven's departure is a setback in a race that has already reduced its numbers. Roel van Sintmaartensdijk abandoned during stage five, leaving the Belgian squad with six riders still in the race.

Lotto-Intermarché have certainly had little luck in this year’s Grand Tours. At the Giro d’Italia, the team was hit hard by illness and, together with UAE Team Emirates-XRG, recorded the highest number of withdrawals with four riders abandoning the race, three of them within the opening five days.

The Tour de France brought more of the same, with the team finishing the race with just five riders, putting them among the squads with the highest number of withdrawals alongside Soudal Quick-Step and Caja Rural-Seguros RGA.

And now, at the Vuelta a España, Lotto-Intermarché once again find themselves leading that unwanted ranking.