Team Katusha co-leader Vladimir Karpets has not been flying thus far in this year’s Tour, the reason for which became apparent yesterday afternoon when he had a scan on a troublesome left hand. The Russian has now been forced to pull out of the race due to a diagnosis of a broken bone, and will now refocus his goals on the Vuelta a España.
The former Tour de Suisse winner crashed one week ago on stage three to Spa, and has been bothered ever since. The injury put paid to his chances of a strong Tour and heading into yesterday’s rest day, he was languishing in 57th overall, 26 minutes behind Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank).
Karpets’ hand had previously been examined after his fall, but the X-Rays taken then were not able to show the extent of the damage. A special scanner was used yesterday afternoon and this revealed the problem.
“It is a big regret to me that the trauma does not allow me to continue in the Tour de France,” he said. “I am very disappointed, because I was preparing for this race for a few months. But, I can’t do anything – the hand is not right, and I cannot hold the handlebar at all. Under such conditions, it makes no sense to continue.”
Karpets showed his ability in the 2004 Tour de France when he took 13th overall and won the white jersey for best young rider. He followed that up the following year with seventh overall in the Giro d’Italia, then nabbed two stages plus the overall classification in the 2007 Tour de Suisse.
That year proved to be his best season to date, with the Swiss victory being supplemented with the overall victory in the Volta a Catalunya, a stage in the Vuelta Castilla y León and seventh overall in the Vuelta a España.
Karpets had another solid Tour last season when he finished twelfth overall in the Tour de France and after finishing two places further back than that in this year’s Giro d’Italia, he headed to the French race with a solid base.
The 29 year old hoped to be a factor for his Katusha team, but the dangerous opening week of the Tour ruled that out.
Now he’s got to refocus and motivate himself to aim for a big result later in the season. “The scanner has shown that the palm is broken, and the doctor has told me that I need a month to get over it,” he explained. “It will be much better if I begin the process of treatment and then go to the Vuelta.”
He’ll head back to his base in Pamplona where he will have a follow-up check with his own doctor. That will determine the next course of action.
The Katusha team’s best hope in the Tour is now Joaquin Rodriguez, who is three minutes and 23 seconds off the yellow jersey of Andy Schleck. He’s a strong climber and if he can make up some time, could in theory battle for a place in the top five.
The Russian squad has had an unfortunate Tour, with their sprinter Robbie McEwen also crashing heavily. The Australian collided with a television journalist after netting fourth on stage six to Guegnon, and while he made it through the first mountain stage, his team-mate Stijn Vandenbergh was eliminated after pacing him for the day.
McEwen is still very sore and so it is uncertain what he will be able to do in the race. He faces a tough day in the saddle today due to the number of climbs on the menu.