Maarten Wynants crashed during the stage 6 of the Tour de France 2012
Maarten Wynants of Team Rabobank crashed during stage 6 of the Tour de France 2012 and the crash will cost the cyclist at least four more days of the French race.
It is the second time that the Belgian had failed to keep himself on the bike after breaking his two ribs and damaging his lung earlier on, during the race.
While commenting on his return to the race to the French race, Wynants told Sporza that he will have to spend at least five more days in hospital.
He noted, "This is far from ideal but I'm glad the situation is under control. I was shocked when I heard that my left lung was only about half the capacity of my right one".
“I had noticed that something was wrong, but it's the Tour. You can't just step off, even though you get hardly any air”.
"The pain is now gone. Yesterday the air between my lungs was removed. That was the cause of the pressure".
The 30-year-old has not opened his 2012 winning account and his only commendable performance in the current season includes a tenth place finish at the Paris-Roubaix 2012.
Maarten finish the stage 6 at the 184th position and currently holds the 169th overall position after the stage 6 classifications.
Peter Sagan of Team Liquigas-Cannondale occupied the top podium position during the 207.5 kilometre pursuit to Metz.
Andre Greipel of Team Lotto Belisol finished second with Matthew Harley Goss of Team Orica GreenEdge and Kenny Robert Van Hummel of Team Vacansoleil-DCM securing the third and the fourth positions respectively.
Wynants was really looking towards the Tour de France and the crash has ruined his chances for the remaining stages of the race.
He was looking ahead to represent his side at the third Grand Tour race of the season, the Vuelta a Espana 2012 and the Eneco Tour but his participation at both the events totally depends on his physical strengths.
Maarten is optimistic for a quick recovery and is really looking forward to get back on his bike as soon as he can.
He signed a deal the Dutch Team in 2011 and is continuing his second consecutive season with the side.
It will be exciting to see if the Belgian recovers in time to complete the remaining season of the 2012 year.
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