Roman Kreuziger was one of the many cyclists who crashed during this year’s Tour de France and although the Astana rider went on to finish the race, it’s now been revealed that he suffered a scaphoid fracture. His wrist has been placed in a cast for six weeks.
“After being examined by two specialists, a decision to put my hand in cast was made,” said Kreuziger after leaving the hospital. “The next check is scheduled for Monday and until then I will spend the time to rest in the Czech Republic.”
Kreuziger had a relatively quiet Tour de France apart from going on the attack on the stage to Luz-Ardiden; he also complained about back pain then. He had already injured his wrist then but did not know the extent of the damage.
“I could have had my hand in cast for two weeks now but I had no idea how bad it was. I wanted to finish the Tour. Now the most important thing for me is to get my wrist together.”
It also means that he will miss Saturday’s San Sebastián Classic, which he was aiming to do well at.
“This was the best solution possible. There is nothing I can do. I’m going to skip the Classic San Sebastian where I was going to race on Saturday,” he said.
“I hope that I will be able to start riding on the stationary bike, or preferably, on my regular bike next week. I would be happy if I could ride the races in Canada in September which was in my original plan, because this is not the way I want to end the season.”
Kreuziger has had busy racing schedule this season in his first year on the Astana team. His got one victory from the Giro del Trentino and also finished sixth overall in May at the Giro d’Italia. Another notable result for the 25 year old was his fourth place finish in the Liège-Bastogne-Liège Classic.