The news wasn't all that great for the HTC-Columbia team on the first road stage of the Tour de France. They had a bright moment in the 2nd place finish of Mark Renshaw, but it was a disappointing runner-up placing considering that Renshaw was supposed to be leading out Mark Cavendish. Cavendish, however, went down a few kilometers earlier in an awkward crash through a tough righthand turn. Cavendish's chances at the Green Jersey took a huge hit with zero points in the first stage sprint, but his chances might suffer a bigger hit with the loss of a teammate, Australian Adam Hansen.
The unbeatable Columbia train of 2009 is looking shaky at best now. With the loss of Michael Rogers's engine in the HTC-Columbia leadout train for 2010 due to his overall general classification ambitions, the further loss of one of the team's big motors and recent Ster Elektrotoer winner, Adam Hansen, the team is down to only six.
Hansen went down in a crash early on the first road stage from Rotterdam to Brussels. The early crash looked like a broken collarbone from the start, but Hansen kept going and finished the stage, even putting in a big effort in the waning moments to bring back the break to set up the sprint.
Following the finish, Hansen was taken to the hospital for x-rays. The results were not good, and now Hansen will be heading back to his home in Slovakia.
"I'm extremely disappointed. I was really looking forward to this Tour, and I'm upset that they have to continue with only eight riders."
Hansen continues: "It was one of those freak crashes. I briefly saw something on the road before I hit it and my bike skid across the field. Most riders managed to avoid me, but at the last second I hit the back wheel of another rider and went down."
Team owner, Bob Stapleton, had nothing but praise for the fallen Aussie: "Adam displayed amazing loyalty to the team today by finishing the race and working extremely hard towards the end. He is an extremely valuable rider and we will definitely miss him at this Tour de France. For now, his health is the most important thing and we want to give him the best care for a quick recovery."
When Stapleton referred to the best care, he is referring to Hansen being taken to what amounts to the team's hospital, the Berufsgenossenschaftliche Unfallkrankenhaus in Hamburg. The hospital is a partner with High Road Sports and will ensure the quickest recovery possible according to team doctor, Helge Riepenhof: "We are very happy with the immediate care he received at the hospital here in Brussels. Hansen will not travel to our hospital in Hamburg, so that we can make decisions on the best treatment."