PARIS (AP) — The 1980 Tour de France champion Joop Zoetemelk was hit by a car while riding his bike on Sunday, and hospitalized with leg and arm fractures, the French press reported.
The accident happened in the Seine-et-Marne region, east of Paris, where the 73-year-old Zoetemelk has lived for decades. It occurred on the final day of this year’s Tour, cycling’s most prestigious race, which was won by Tadej Pogacar.
The Tour tweeted that Zoetemelk was transported by helicopter to the hospital.
Zoetemelk was the second Dutchman to win the Tour after Jan Janssen in 1968.
Ahead of this year’s edition, Zoetemelk told the daily Le Parisien that he continued riding several times a week on 60-kilometer (37-mile) stints.
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