03 April, 2016, Roeselare (BEL)
The 100th edition of Ronda van Vlaanderen was one that BMC Racing Team had its sights set on from the beginning of the year. A brutal crash brought those hopes crashing down, forcing Greg Van Avermaet, Michael Schaer, Marcus Burghardt and Manuel Quinziato to abandon. Unfortunately that’s cycling but there’s always another side to the story and we were incredibly proud to see Daniel Oss, Jempy Drucker, Stefan Kueng and Taylor Phinney battle to the end and fly the BMC Racing Team flag. The below updates concern the four riders who crashed out of Ronde van Vlaanderen.
Greg Van Avermaet:
Dr Testa: “Greg has a displaced fracture of the right collarbone and otherwise just bruises and bumps all over the body. He didn’t have a concussion so he is in decent spirits considering the situation. Greg will have surgery as soon as possible to secure the fracture and speed up his recovery. With surgery done quickly, Greg could plan to be back on the bike in one week and then racing again in six weeks.”
Van Avermaet: “It’s been a bad day for us. I’m really disappointed. What can I say, it was really hard for me to be on the ground. I tried to stand up but when you have something broken it is not possible. I think I need some days to think about it and hopefully I’ll come back stronger but for me it’s a big disappointment because for me Flanders, Roubaix, Amstel are the most important races of the season and I can’t be there. It’s not a good situation but I have to handle it and hopefully I’ll come back stronger.”
Michael Schaer:
Dr Testa: “A CT scan has showed that Michael was not seriously injured in the crash. He wasn’t concussed but he has a stiff neck caused by whiplash which is causing him pain and he has a knee contusion with a hematoma, as well as general bruises and cuts. He was lucky to escape without any serious injuries. We’ll have to wait another 24 to 48 hours before we decide on his recovery and race plan.”
Schaer: “My knee is pretty swollen and I’m quite sore and stiff in the neck. I was really worried for a while so I’m lucky to be relatively ok. I’ll stay in the hotel another day or two and then we’ll drain my knee. Paris-Roubaix is my favorite race of the whole season so I hope to be there but at this stage I’m taking things one day at a time.”
Marcus Burghardt:
Dr Testa: “Marcus has a contusion on his left knee with a superficial bursitis and a soft tissue hematoma. We will evaluate him in 24 hours to decide the plan of attack but we have some hope that he will recover for Paris-Roubaix.”
Burghardt: “Im really disappointed as I had the legs and a good feeling today and I couldn’t really test myself. I’m not in too much pain but I’m more frustrated about the fact that it was caused by a flying bottle. On cobbles there shouldn’t be bottles flying around. If everyone had bottle cages which are tight enough to hold the bottle, we would have avoided the crash altogether. So more than anything I’m disappointed and frustrated but I hope to be back on Sunday.”
Manuel Quinziato:
Dr Testa: “Manuel has multiple abrasions on his right shoulder, his right elbow and the right thigh. He should be on track to recovery within a week, and hopefully he’ll be ready for Paris-Roubaix on Sunday.”
Quinziato: “I feel really disappointed because when you crash yourself it is bad enough but to bring down the whole team, it feels like one of the worst days in my professional career. I don’t feel like it was my fault because it felt like someone knocked my handle bars and that caused me to crash. In terms of my injuries, I’m not in too much pain so I hope I’m going to recover fairly quickly.”
Fabio Baldato on Ronde van Vlaanderen:
“After the crash we were lost, in the car and for the four remaining riders. We were all confused but the four riders managed to do a good race. Jempy Drucker and Daniel Oss were supposed to be in the final part with Greg and they showed they could be without Greg, the captain. They tried to fight into the final and I’m satisfied with their performance. For sure we are not happy with how today went but it is like it is, it’s cycling. We are without Greg for Paris-Roubaix but we will still have a strong team and I hope that Manuel, Michael and Marcus will be back next Sunday. We’ll see what we can do.”
