Pierre Rolland confirms his exclusion from the Paris-Nice 2012
Pierre Rolland will not ride the Paris-Nice, starting on March 4th. The cyclist injured his knee during the Tour du haut Var, which has caused a lesion to his cartilage and the condition has worsened.
He was looking ahead at the French race and came out to train on Monday but could not continue after practicing for an hour only.
He has now announced that he will not ride the 2012 version of the race. The 25-year-old shared his dejection on the team’s website.
He expressed, “I’m very disappointed not to be able to take part in Paris-Nice it was an important objective for my season. It seemed bizarre to me that there’s been no progress after ten days”.
Rolland started riding professionally in 2007 with Team Credit Agricole and stayed with the team for a period of two years.
He accepted an offer from the French side, Team Europcar, in 2008 and is keen to continue his fifth consecutive season with the side.
Pierre holds three Tour de France appearances, with 2009, 2010 and 2011 participations under his belt.
He secured the tenth overall spot during the most recent edition of the race, which is considered as his best performance at the French race.
Team Europcar's cyclist also claimed the 19th stage of the race and grabbed the young rider classifications at the event.
Rolland has already claimed the first win of the 2012 season after a splendid display of his abilities during the third stage of the Etoile de Besseges 2012.
Staying away from his bike is the only way for Pierre to recover as suggested by the doctors. “Every day that I ride is a day lost in my rehabilitation,” he noted.
Belgian cyclist Alphonse Schepers bagged the first version of the race back in 1933, while Sean Kelly of Ireland holds the honour of winning the race on a maximum number of 7 occasions.
The 70th edition of Paris-Nice is scheduled from March 4-11, and Tony Martin of Germany is looking ahead to defend his 2011 title.
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