Nick Nuyens crash at Paris-Nice ruins his chances to secure the season’s first victory
Nick Nuyens of Team Saxo Bank crashed during the opening stage of the Paris-Nice and was taken to the hospital immediately after the race.
The cyclist was lucky to survive any major injuries as the tests and the scans showed no broken bones.
He noted, “Luckily, there are no broken bones. But naturally, I'm sore and especially my hip took a hard beating in the crash”.
Nuyens continued, “My preparations for the Tour of Flanders are only in danger if I'm unable to complete Paris-Nice so I'm really hoping that I'll be back in the saddle tomorrow”.
He was optimistic during the 185 kilometre stage 2 of the race but the fatigue clearly showed on his body, as he stumbled towards the finish-line.
Despite his endless efforts, Nuyens could not finish the race and abandoned the second stage of the event.
Team Saxo Bank was under massive pressure after the departure of its star rider, Alberto Contador.
There was great pressure on Nick’s shoulders but the crash has pretty much ruined the team’s chances at the race.
Tristan Hoffman is Team Saxo Bank’s Director and he cited that Nuyens was riding brilliantly during the opening stage of the race and was unfortunate to have ended up in a crash.
Nuyens had a terrific last season and secured the top position at the Dwars door Vlaanderen and the Ronde van Vlaanderen 2011.
The cyclist had a slow start to his 2012 season and has not opened his winning account yet.
Daniel Navarro is leading the Danish team at the French race now and he finished the first stage of the race at the 61st position.
Navarro could not make an impact during the second stage and finished at the 72nd position during the 185 kilometre chase to Orleans.
He said, "After a physically demanding training camp I'll try to make a good result in the Paris-Nice GC".
"I've had a solid build-up for the race with plenty of kilometres in perfect conditions and I hope the effort will bear fruit here and the races to come," added Navarro.
Only time will tell if Nuyens can recover in time to help the team at the second race of the UCI World Tour calendar.
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