Damien Monier recovering after a serious car accident
Damien Monier was hit by a car during a training session on Saturday. The cyclist is in a stable condition and is recovering at the Clermont-Ferrand hospital.
He was left with a number of fractures on his nose, skull and jaw. Monier was lucky as there was no bleeding inside the skull and his cervical vertebrae was not affected after the crash.
The 29-year-old joined the professional team, Cofidis, in 2004 and secured many wins for the French side.
He won the Under 23 French Track Championships earlier in his career, followed by a third place finish at the French National Track Championships 2004.
He won the French National Track Championships again in 2005. However, the biggest win of his career so far came at the Giro d' Italia 2010.
Monier won the 17th stage of the race to secure his first ever and the only Grand Tour victory.
He managed to steal the victory from Danilo Hondo and Steven Kruijskwijk to help the side with 25 important UCI points during the event.
He also won the most aggressive rider award on the stage and finished second at the stage 17th combativity award.
Cofidis' Team Manager, Eric Boyer, briefed that the French cyclist should consider himself lucky to be alive at this point.
He told Cyclingnews, "At least, the driver of the car that hit him stopped to attend to him immediately. Medical help was sought right away, so everything was OK from that point of view".
Boyer continued, "He currently receives liquid nutrition through a straw, His jaw is immobilised, he cannot move. He really came close. This could have ended much worse".
Damien was given the first surgery over the weekend and it is expected that the cyclist will be given a second treatment soon.
The doctors are only waiting for the swelling to go away before they can operate to repair the injuries to his front teeth.
The second surgery is planned on Thursday or Friday and the doctors are hopeful that Monier will be able to leave the hospital in an approximate time of 10 days.
Damien has the support and prayers of his family and all the fans across the world. They are hoping to see their star cyclist back on his bike soon.
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