Nicolas Roche’s involvement in Tour of the Basque Country
was brought to an end on stage 4 today after he crashed hard.
The Irishman was among a number of fallers who came down on
a descent with about 90km remaining.
The 163.6km stage from Vitoria-Gasteiz to Arrigorriaga was littered with crashes. In one – see video
below – a large number of riders fell.
Roche’s fall occurred earlier in the stage and while he was
able to take no further part in the race, there was some good news in the hours
after the stage.
His Team Sunweb squad said he had been examined by medics and no serious injuries were found.
Roche is a rider who very rarely crashes and has not been forced to abandon a race due to a crash for a long time.
Advertisement
Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky), Ricardo Vilela (Burgos-BH),
Daan Olivier (Jumbo-Visma), Jon Aberasturi Izaga (Caja Rural) and Roche were
among those forced out during today’s stage.
Nicolas Roche’s team said the wet weather today had made conditions very testing, adding the Irish cyclist had fallen victim to the elements.
Related News
“As the wet weather continued, the riders soon began to
struggle with the slippery roads, Nicolas Roche being one who was unfortunate
enough to come down during the day and subsequently abandoned,” the team said.
“However, having been assessed at hospital, the Irishman has escaped any serious injuries.”
Team Sunweb had already been badly hit by injuries before Roche's fall, with Wilco Kelderman and Martijn Tusveld both currently on the sidelines.
Topics
