Nicolas Roche needed stitches in his arm after gashes were ripped in it by a rear cassette during his crash on stage 10 of the Tour de France today.
The Irish cyclist was involved in a large pile-up just inside 100km to go to the the finish on île de Ré, where compatriot Sam Bennett took a brilliant stage win.
However, while Bennett was up the road staying out of trouble and getting focused for a big finish, Roche's crash left him with a real fight to even stay in the race.
He looked absolutely shattered after his fall, being helped back to his feet after staying on the road for a long time. However, the Team Sunweb man eventually got back on his bike and back into the group, finishing just 10:52 down on the day.
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Roche shared images of his cuts and road rash, with his arm being ripped and his back, arms and shoulders taking a pounding with road rash. His team confirmed the flesh on his arms needed to be stitched after the race.
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Having done incredibly well to gather himself and get back into the action today, Roche will hope to rest and recover as well as he can over the next few days.
Nicolas Roche was in a bad way after his crashes on the Tour de France but he plans to continue in the race
Team Sunweb medic, Camiel Alderschof, gave an update on Roche's condition, which made it clear he is set for a rough few days ahead.
“Nicolas had a pretty heavy fall today at the Tour. An x-ray of his wrist showed no fractures, but a deep wound to his arm required multiple stitches," he said.
"He is also bruised and sustained abrasions to his legs. He will take some rest this evening and we will continue to monitor his progress over the coming days.”
The stage, which took a route close to the west coast of France, passed through roads with a lot of small roundabouts and other such features.
Combined with the speed, the road furniture resulted in many crashes, though Roche's fall occurred on a clearer stretch of road, but as the crosswinds were hitting the riders.
Nicolas Roche was one of 12 riders who had X-Rays done after the stage and Sam Bewley, the Mitchelton Scott rider who came down in the same crash as Roche and many others, is out of the race. The Kiwi suffered a broken bone and cannot continue.
Davide Formolo (UAE Team Emirates) is also out of the
race, the former Italian national champion fracturing his clavicle
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