Jakob Fuglsang didn’t take the start in the 3rd stage of the Tour de Romandie because of an inflammation of the articular capsule and ligament of the left knee. The team management and medical staff have decided to take the Danish rider off the team’s roster for the Giro d’Italia.
“I am very disappointed,” commented Fuglsang in Basel. “The Giro was my big objective for this year. Yesterday I had so much pain in the last 40K, I was just miserable. At that point I realized that it might be the end of my Giro dream. Moreover I was already running behind my schedule after the scaphoid bone fracture in the Tour of Catalunya.”
The pain in the knee started two weeks ago at an altitude camp in Sierra Nevada, Spain. From there Jakob Fuglsang took it easy and in agreement with the medical staff, he decided to ride the same way at the Tour of Romandie.
“This is an absolute clear diagnosis,” added Team Doctor Andreas Gösele. “Jakob is a great young rider and we all have a responsibility for him. With a quick and intensive therapy, Jakob would possibly be able to start at the Giro, but with how much risk? A good result would be out of the question and if he would have to drop out after ten stages, what would we have accomplished? From a medical point of view, it is impossible to guarantee that he will be fine. It’s never good to take an injured rider to the start of a Grand Tour, and neither is it good to take out the leader of a team during such an important race. We don’t want to jeopardize his season and his career. In normal conditions, he would need at least ten days of rest and then a steady build-up, but now we are eight days away from the start in Denmark…”
For RADIOSHACK NISSAN TREK this injury is another setback after the bad luck the Team already encountered in the Spring Classics with Fabian Cancellara’s collar bone fracture.
“This makes me very sad,” said Team Manager Johan Bruyneel, “because Jakob had made the Giro his big season goal. He invested a lot of time and even personal funds for altitude camps to be in his best shape at the start of the race. I’m really sorry for him, but it’s unrealistic to bring him to the start and believe in a miracle. The Giro is a very important race for our team and now we need to study how we can alter our strategy for those three weeks.”
“The Giro was particularly special for me, because it starts in Denmark,” concluded Jakob Fuglsang. “We would even have stayed in a hotel in the city where I grew up. My hand injury was already a setback. Now, with this on top, I can only agree with the doctors and not take any risk. I will look ahead. I am young and there will be other Grand Tours for me in the future.”
