The 2010 Tour de France certainly has been filled with crashes, and although they bring a degree of excitement to the mild viewer, they have also been slowly dwindling the field. The most recent victim of this year’s tour of crashes was overall classification hopeful Frank Schlek.
Schlek had a difficult day on the cobbles in stage three and now joins American hopeful Christian Vande Velde on the sidelines.
The crash record at this year’s Tour de France has been well documented and although most of the falls have only resulted in minor injuries, at least two of them have caused top contenders to leave the competition. Frank Schlek was forced to pull out of the race when he was taken to hospital after a hard fall on the cobblestone in stage three, while Christian Vande Velde was unable to participate in today’s stage because of two broken ribs suffered in stage two.
Schlek crashed out a mere 26 km from the finish line in a stage that many experts were calling the most difficult of the first week. Schlek was on the final cobbled section when a major crash forced him off his bike, breaking his collar bone. Although there were once again a number of riders caught in the pile up, Schleck was the only rider that was brought to hospital. This loss does not serve well for both tour organizers, and his team: Saxo-Bank.
Schleck finished fifth in last year’s tour and was certainly a contender along with his brother Andy to challenge for the yellow jersey. For Saxo-Bank this means a total shift in plans. The Schleck brothers were meant to play off one another through the Alps and Pyrenees, as they are both strong mountain riders. With Frank down, the task may fall to less practiced rider, time trial specialist Fabian Cancellara.
Brother Andy Schleck tried to remain positive saying, "it’s not the most important thing. I’m happy it’s just his collarbone that has been broken,” when he spoke to CyclinNews. It is lucky that Frank was not more severely hurt, however it will be difficult for his brother Andy to repeat his second place finish from 2009 without Frank’s help.
Unfortunately the same fate befell American rider Christan Vande Velde, this time in stage two. Vande Velde was doubly unlucky, actually falling twice during the stage. His first fall came ascending Stockeu when a rider went down in front of him and he was not able to avoid hitting him.
Vande Velde suffered a deep gash over his eye which later required stitches. Shortly after the first fall he was forced to ground again descending into Spa, as a rider fell and he was unable to avoid him. The second crash broke two of his ribs, an injury he had just gotten over, allowing him to participate in the tour.
Vande Velde was obviously disappointed about having to leave the tour stating to CyclingNews, “I worked really hard to get myself ready to be here again, and was just starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Vande Velde’s withdrawal from the race could prove devastating for his team, Garmin–Transitions. Vande Velde was meant to be the focal point of the team's efforts, having finished eight in last year’s Tour. This loss coupled with the heavy injuries that youngster and team sprinter Tyler Farrar suffered could be devastating for last year’s overall team classification winners.
The only positive for Garmin–Transitions might be the performance thus far of Canadian Ryder Hesjedal, who currently sits fourth. However, even with Hesjedal’s recent success there is no doubt that the loss of Vande Velde will be felt heavily throughout the squad.
The withdrawal of both Frank Schleck and Christian Vande Velde is very unfortunate, as their teams will have to try and limit the damage of losing a star rider, while spectators of the Tour are going to miss watching two world class cyclists battle it out for the yellow jersey.
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