Denis Menchov (Katusha) will now miss Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour de Romandie, which starts on Tuesday, after suffering a recurrence of the knee injury that disrupted the first half of his 2012 season. The Russian was training in Sierra Nevada, Spain, as part of his build up for another attempt at the Tour de France, when the injury returned.
“Unfortunately, the trauma, which I suffered last year, when I did not finish Tour de Romandie, came back again,” said Menchov in a statement through his team. “At the moment I have some pain in my right knee and can’t work in the training with 100%.
“Because of that, together with team’s management I decided not to risk and not to participate in the upcoming races, which I had before in my calendar: Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour de Romandie,” he confirmed.
How long Menchov’s injury layoff will last is not currently certain. In 2012 he did not return to racing until the Critérium du Dauphiné, but this season - according to a report on Dutch website Wielerrevue - he is due to lead the Katusha team in the Giro d’Italia, which starts on May 4th. This now looks unlikely, but the 35-year-old ‘Silent Assassin’ still hopes to be on top form at the start of the Tour de France on June 29th.
“Shortly, I will get the full medical research to find the reasons of the pain and to start the treatment,” he said. “I hope, in the near future I will have a chance to come back for training and my preparation for the important races of my season.”