The organisers of the Vuelta a España paid tribute to Belgian rider Kris Boeckmans at the presentation of the 2017 route on Thursday.

The Lotto-Soudal rider crashed on the eighth stage of the 2015 Vuelta and was subsequently placed in an induced coma. He required eight hours of facial surgery on a broken nose and jawbone, as well as treatment for concussion, three broken ribs and bleeding in his lungs.

Boeckmans later revealed that he almost died on six different occasions in the days following the accident, such were the extent of his injuries. He was later transferred back to a hospital in Belgium. He made his comeback to racing in March 2016.

Boeckmans was the guest of honour at the presentation on Thursday, and a tribute video was played where he was described as “A fighter, a winner, a hero,” and which looked back at his crash and subsequent rehabilitation. In addition, Boeckmans also met with Vuelta doctor Mikel Martínez who was first to give medical assistance to him after his crash.

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