Tom Boonen misses his chance at World Championships after Vuelta crash – Cycling Update
Tom Boonen of team Quick step who had just recovered after the Tour de France crash has to abandon the Vuelta a Espana 2011 after he collapsed at stage 15 which left a bruise on his left hand as he stumbled his way towards the finish line.
He won the World Road Race Championships in 2005 and two stage wins in the Vuelta a Espana 2008 as he won stage 3 and stage 16 during the grand tour. Boonen is mainly known for his skills at the single-day road race.
Boonen is having a tough season as he first faced a crash during the Tour de France 2011 and he could not return to racing until the Tour of Poland. He told the media after the Vuelta crash that he is disappointed as he was looking good for the World Championships
and Vuelta a Espana was his only chance to prepare for the mega event.
The Belgian rider was not performing at his best during the Vuelta as it was only found last week that he was suffering from a groin wound and after the crash his chances to compete in Copenhagen are very faint. General Hospital in Gijon treated the cyclist
as the tests have shown a fracture to his left scaphoid.
The 30-year-old commented after the crash as he said, “I was 20th in the group when in the span of a moment I found myself on the ground, due to a sudden movement of the peloton,” he added. “I immediately understood that my problem was serious,
but I wanted to finish the race and then evaluate what to do together with the team’s medical staff.”
Despite the injuries Tom managed to finish the stage 15 with 23 minutes and 24 seconds behind the new race leader Juan Jose Cobo of Geox-TMC as he stated that right after the crash he realised that his condition was serious but he also wanted to finish the
race and exerted all his energy as he moved towards the finish line. It will be interesting to see if Boonen can make his way in the World Championships and that will only be possible if he can recover from the Vuelta crash.
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