The Garmin Barracuda team will lack one of its most experienced riders in the weeks ahead following David Millar’s bad crash in today’s E3 Prijs Vlaanderen-Harelbeke race.
The Scottish rider was one of several who crashed on the approach to the Boigneberg climb, with approximately 70 kilometres remaining until the finish. They ended up in a ditch and as a result, Jan Ghyselinck (Cofidis), Jens Mouris (GreenEDGE), Sebastien Hinault (AG2R La Mondiale) and Koen de Kort (Project 1t4i) were all taken away by ambulance.
Millar also travelled to a local hospital and underwent x-rays. His team has confirmed that these showed that he had a fractured right collarbone.
“David suffered a hard crash today, fracturing his right clavicle,” explained team doctor Kevin Sprouse. “This is the same one he’s broken in the past. His health is our top priority and we’ll continue to evaluate him to determine the best next steps.”
Millar will hope to make as speedy a recovery as Filippo Pozzato, but much will depend on the nature of the fracture. Farnese Vini Selle Italia rider Pozzato crashed on February 9th in the Tour of Qatar, had surgery three days later, returned to racing six days after that in the Trofeo Laigueglia in Italy, then went on to ride Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-Sanremo.
He performed well in today’s race and appears well-positioned for the bigger Classics ahead. He told VeloNation earlier this week that he expects to be a force in those races.
Even with that best-case scenario, Millar still faces a period of time before he will return to strong form. However with the Tour de France still over three months away, it’s reasonable to expect that he will be in contention for a slot on the team.
According to Sprouse, the Scot is coping well thus far with the disappointment of being injured. “David is doing well and in good spirits, all things considered,” he said.