Gianni Meersman’s injury woes continued today, as it has transpired that the Lotto-Belisol climber has also fractured bones in his left wrist and elbow. The 26-year-old Belgian crashed in the second stage of the Giro d’Italia; the first road stage, starting and finishing in Herning, Denmark. He complained of wrist problems at the time, but it was pain to his back and knee that forced his eventual abandon before the start of stage seven.
On returning to Belgium, Meersman underwent further tests, where a fractures to his elbow and scaphoid bones were identified. He will have to wear a cast for a week, when he will be unable to train, and then have a brace fitted for four weeks after that. Training will be possible in the brace, but Lotto-Belisol reports that it is too early to determine when the rider will be able to resume racing.
Meersman had been riding the Giro with a focus on the hilly stage finishes in the first week, like stage seven to Rocca di Cambio, and stage ten to Assisi, which were similar in characteristics to the Mende stage of Paris-Nice that he won in March. Instead, his injuries forced him to limp through the flat stages of the first week, and abandon before his targeted stages arrived.