AP Photo/Thibault Camus
- The highest-placed US rider in the Tour de France, Tejay van Garderen, withdrew from the race late Friday.
- Van Garderen had crashed heavily early on Friday’s stage seven, after hitting a traffic median, he told Business Insider. Postrace X-rays revealed a fracture in his left thumb.
- Still, broken and bloodied, he finished the stage, the longest of this year’s Tour at over 140 miles.
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CHALON-SUR- SAONE, France — Bike racing can be brutal and unforgiving. Tejay van Garderen, the top American rider in the Tour de France, got a bitter reminder of that Friday: He is now out of the world’s greatest race after crashing hard early on stage seven and breaking his left thumb and suffering multiple abrasions to his face and body.
He crashed not long after the start Friday and still managed to complete the longest stage of the Tour, 230 kilometers, or 142.9 miles, albeit broken and bloodied but fighting.
EF team manager and CEO Jonathan Vaughters confirmed to Business Insider that Van Garderen would not start stage eight Saturday. Van Garderen later also said he was not continuing.
Early on Friday’s stage, which was supposed to be a relatively relaxing but long day for most of the riders, Van Garderen hit a traffic island and crashed heavily. He was checked by team management and the official Tour doctor after crashing and was eventually allowed to continue racing.
He finished the stage, the longest of this year’s Tour at 230 kilometers, or 142.9 miles. After, he went for x-rays, which showed a fracture in his left thumb.
Van Garderen told Business Insider how the crash happened: "It was a really stupid crash," he said. "I think a piece of paper or something got stuck in my bike somewhere, and I was just looking down trying to see what it was and get it out. And as I was looking down I ran into a median. It was really a benign moment of the race, and it was just one of those things. I can’t blame anyone but myself."
"There’s a fracture in my medial carpal, and right now it’s not displaced, but doctors advise I keep it in a splint and keep it immobile," Van Garderen said. "If I’m riding on it and going over bumps, it’s directly impacting the area of the fracture, and it could easily become displaced and become a more serious problem."
AP Photo/Thibault Camus
EF team doctor Kevin Sprouse and head sports director Charly Wegelius met with Van Garderen at the team hotel to discuss whether he would continue in the Tour.
After their meeting, Vaughters said Van Garderen would not start Saturday’s stage.
"We never want to see a rider leave the Tour like this," Vaughters said in a team statement late Friday. "There is a huge amount of work that goes into the preparation for this race, no one wants to be there more than these riders do. After talking with Tejay, our doctor, and race directors this evening, we’re not only concerned about Tejay doing lasting damage to the fractured bone if he were to continue riding, but we are also concerned for the safety of others, too. Full use of your hand is important when racing alongside 180 riders."
"We will miss having him in the team," Vaughters added. "He has showed great form coming into the race. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope that he’ll be back racing again soon."
This story is developing.
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Source: Business Insider – dmcmahon@businessinsider.com (Daniel McMahon)