Bauke Mollema and Pieter Weening break collarbones in crashes in Poland and Burgos
After a series of successes at both the Tour of Poland and the Vuelta Burgos, the Rabobank team has to deal with some less than great news now: both Bauke Mollema (Poland) and Pieter Weening (Burgos) broke their collarbones over the weekend.
It didn't take long for Rabobank's Bauke Mollema to come down off of the high of his first professional victory in Stage 6 of the Tour of Poland. The young Dutch rider's win vaulted him into 3rd overall with one day remaining, but things went downhill from there.
On the final stage in Poland, Mollema came to grief on the wet roads. The crash resulted in a broken collarbone for Mollema. Rabobank doctor, Peter Esseveldt, examined the 23 year old climbing talent during the race: "I immediately examined him and saw that he could move his arm properly. He had some pain, but it wasn't so bad. It did not look like a severe break, and he could still move his upper body well enough. Given his mobility, I decided that it was ok for him to continue riding."
The 12th place overall finisher at the 2009 Giro momentarily shook off his injury, got back on his bike, and finished the stage to finalize his 3rd place behind Garmin's Dan Martin and Lampre's Grega Bole.
Dr. Esseveldt left it open as to what will come next for Mollema: "It's not a bad break. I think Bauke could be back racing in four weeks without surgery, but with an operation, perhaps he could return a little earlier. We will talk more on Monday about the next steps, but he will definitely not be racing at the GP Plouay or the Tour de Limousin [as previously scheduled]."
Meanwhile, Pieter Weening crashed on the final day of the Vuelta Burgos coming off the descent of the stage's last climb. Like Mollema, the former Tour de France stage winner, suffered a broken collarbone, but his was more severe, and Weening could not continue to the finish.
While Mollema's break is a definite setback, Weening's is a little more stressful, as Weening is in the Rabobank selection for the upcoming Vuelta a Espana.
Normally, this would be a first class ticket right out of the Vuelta for Weening, but Dr. Esseveldt is hopeful for Weening, who will have surgery on his break: "After surgery, he can be back on the bike within three days to keep in shape. It isn't as hopeless as it looks at first glance."