Adam Hansen’s hope of becoming part of a very select group to finish all three Grand Tours in a single season remains alive today after the rider got a green light to continue in the Vuelta a España.
He was one of several riders to come down in a big crash yesterday, hitting the deck along with race leader Alejandro Valverde.
“I don't mind Team Sky putting it in the gutter, but how about next time you don't slam us in the gutter. I'm going for an X Ray,” he said via Twitter after yesterday’s finish.
Fortunately that assessment worked out favourably for him. “Adam will start stage five. He went to hospital late yesterday evening for x-rays on his hip,” Lotto Belisol team spokesman Arne Houtekier told VeloNation today. “He was in the crash with Valverde and got a bang to his hip. He had a lot of pain. Nothing was broken, and the doctor said if you have strong character, you can continue.”
Hansen has ridden approximately 12,000 kilometres in competition this year and, after placing 94th in the Giro and 81st in the Tour de France, he decided to start the Vuelta a España. Only thirty-one riders have ever completed all thee Grand Tours in a single season, and he is the only one in a position to do so in 2012.
“Riding the three Grand Tours is indeed something special, something I wanted to do, a goal in itself,” said the Lotto Belisol rider before the race. “At the beginning of the year I had in any case the intention to ride the Giro and Tour and it turned out better than expected. Until now I have had a good season and I don’t feel tired yet, so why not?”
Relieved that he can continue, Houtekier said that it still remains to be see how Hansen will fare. “It is not a mountain stage today so we hope he can finish the stage relatively normally. Then we have to see over the next few days if he can continue the Vuelta. You never know what will happen with his body, we are waiting for reactions. But we hope he will be okay.”