Dutchman will miss several months of racing after being hit by car, unclear if Tour will be affected
Vacansoleil DCM rider Johnny Hoogerland will miss the entire Classics season after a more complete medical assessment revealed further injuries from his accident yesterday.
The Dutchman was training in Spain and was about to start motorpacing when a car cut across his path and collided with him.
Initially said to have suffered some rib fractures, a further examination by doctors at the Villajoyosa hospital have identified the precise nature of his injuries. He has five rib fractures, a bruised liver, some bleeding in the area surrounding it and some fractures to bones in his spine.
As a result he will remain in intensive care for several more days, and will have to delay his return to the Netherlands until next week. Vacansoleil DCM has said that he will be out for the entire spring season. It is as yet unspecified if he will be able to return in time for the Tour de France.
Directeur sportif Aart Vierhouten regrets the incident but is also relieved that things are not worse, particularly with the news that the blood around his vital organ was not from the liver itself.
“Besides the good news regarding his liver this is a personal drama for every top athlete. I have to say that I am happy that the liver injury is not too bad but it still is a big injury,” he said.
“The main concern is that he gets better soon. Besides that, the team will of course miss him in the coming months. After a hectic winter last year it was a good and relaxed winter this year in which Johnny was on his way to reach his 2011 level.”
Hoogerland has had bad luck with injuries at points during his career, not least the incident in the 2011 Tour de France when a France Televisions car overtook a breakaway dangerously and caused him to be flung into a barbed wire fence.
Hoogerland wore the King of the Mountains jersey in that race and gained the admiration of many fans of the sport when he continued to battle on.