Fractured elbow for Igor Romero and injured knee for Javier Moreno as team warms up for Mallorca Challenge
Four riders from the Caja Rural team have been injured in a crash while warming up for the Mallorca Challenge series of races that starts this weekend. Javier Moreno, Igor Romero, Egoitz Garcia and José Herrada, all members of the Spanish Professional Continental team that made the step up from Continental level last year, came down on a slippery descent while out on a training ride on the island.
Romero was the worst affected by the crash, suffering a fractured elbow, while Moreno was thought at first to have cracked his kneecap; Garcia and Herrara got off lighter with just bruises and abrasions, although Herrara took a heavy blow to his wrist.
“X-rays taken at the hospital in Palma don’t actually show a fracture,” said Moreno, “but doctors have given me a knee splint to protect it until I can have a more thorough examination; I will have that done [at home] in the hospital in Jaén.
“The crash happened as we were descending a climb,” he explained, “the ground was wet and there was a little ice on a corner. A teammate went down right in front of me and there was nothing I could do.”
Moreno was to be making his debut at the Mallorca Challenge which, although it consists of five “stages” there is no official overall classification as riders are allowed to ride on as many, or as few, days as they like.
Instead Moreno will return home to Jaén in Andalucia, Spain, where he hopes to recover quickly and still be able to ride his home tour later in the month.
“Hopefully it’s nothing serious,” he said, “and that I’ll be able to resume training soon, because I wouldn’t want to miss the Vuelta a Andalucia.”