Philippe Gilbert crashed during the penultimate World Tour race of the season, the Giro di Lombardia 2012
Philippe Gilbert of Team BMC could not make the best use of his rainbow jersey as he crashed during his very first race after becoming the UCI Road World Championships 2012.
The cyclist was optimistic to claim an overall victory at the last European Grand Tour race of the season, the Giro di Lombardia 2012 but all his hopes were shattered when he crashed during his way up the Muro di Sormano and abandoned the race.
Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver of Team Katusha claimed an overall victory during the 251 kilometre race.
The Spaniard took a total time of 6 hours, 36 minutes and 27 seconds to get a final lead of 9 seconds over Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez of Team Euskaltel-Euskadi.
Rigoberto Uran Uran of Team Sky Procycling, Mauro Santambrogio of Team BMC and Sergio Luis Henao Montoya of Team Sky Procycling claimed the next three positions in the respective order.
Despite a slow start to his 2012 campaign, the Belgian has done well in the past couple of months with a stage 9 and a stage 19 win at the Vuelta a Espana 2012.
He finished third at the La Fleche Wallonne, sixth during the Amstel Gold Race and was a part of strong Team BMC that won the silver medal at the UCI Road World trading team’s time trial.
Gilbert’s biggest win of the season came during the UCI Road World Championships Elite Men event as he occupied the top podium position after launching a storming attack in the final 2 kilometres of the race in Netherlands.
Crashing in such an important race has definitely destroyed Philippe’s hopes but he was lucky to survive any major injuries.
Team BMC Sports Director John Lelangue confirmed RAI news agency that the cyclist has not broken any bones and will be seen back in action soon.
"He hasn't broken anything but the damage is still significant. He took blows to his arm, leg, hip and back. There was a lot of blood and he was a bit groggy, but he never lost consciousness," RAI noted.
"With that injury there was no point in continuing and in any case, the gap between the group and was Gilbert too big".
"It's going to be interesting with the rain today," he warned. "I think that the race could be won and lost on the descent," he concluded.
It will be fascinating to watch if the UCI Road World Champion recovers in time for the final Grand Tour race of the 2012 season, the Tour of Beijing scheduled from October 9-13, 2012.
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