Jurgen Roelandts hopeful to ride the Tirreno-Adriatico after being freed by the doctors
Jurgen Roelandts of Team Lotto-Belisol crashed during the opening stage of the Santos Tour Down Under 2012 and was admitted at the Adelaide Hospital.
The cyclist has now left the hospital after being treated for a fractured cervical vertebra and has flown back to continue the recovery process.
Jurgen was most seriously injured in the crash that brought as many as 20 cyclists to the ground.
He has already missed the Santos Tour and hopes to recover soon enough for the Tirreno-Adriatico scheduled from March 7-13, 2012.
The Belgian is now wearing a neck collar which he has to bear for a period of six weeks as suggested by the doctors.
He briefed, “I'll see what the doctors say in Belgium, but I hope to ride Tirreno. That way I will have a spring race”.
The 26-year-old does not remember anything from the crash. He told Nieuwsblad, “Don't ask me how it happened. There was so much dust I couldn't see where or what I was riding. My helmet was broken”.
The Belgian’s first communication with his fans came through the twitter page. He also posted a photo of himself in the hospital emergency room.
Jurgen’s teammate, Andre Greipel, won the first and the third stage of the race. He believes that the downhill sprint towards the end of the stage 1 resulted in the crash.
Greipel was disappointed on losing his teammate and dedicated his stage 3 win to Roelandts. He is currently leading the stage 3 classifications and is a tough general classifications contender.
A great performance by the German sprinter, considering the fact that Team Lotto-Belisol is one man short at the race.
He was two seconds behind Martin Kohler of BMC Racing Team after the second stage but turned the table around during the 134.5 kilometre stage.
Greipel has developed a lead of 8 seconds over Kohler. Meanwhile Michael Matthews of Team Rabobank currently holds the third spot.
The whole Lotto-Belisol squad visited Jurgen during the night of the crash. The team is hopeful for his quick recovery as Roelandts is undoubtedly a key player in the Belgian side.
Doctors will check Jurgen after a period of six weeks which will determine his future plans for the 2012 season.
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