Alex Dowsett (Movistar) crashed out of today’s second stage of the Eneco Tour, between Ardooie and Forest, Brussels, having dislocated both of his thumbs in the incident. The British time trial champion came down after 44km, as the peloton was approaching the climb of the Côte de Trieu climb. He managed to rejoin the bunch, but was then forced to abandon the race due to the extreme pain.
“Preliminary checks on the Essex rider seem to rule out any fractures, but still revealed dislocations in both thumbs, as well as several bruises,” said a statement from the Movistar Team after the race.
The crash and abandon comes as a particular disappointment to Dowsett, who won the long time trial of the Giro d’Italia between Gabicce Mare and Saltara, as he was targeting Friday’s 13km stage against the clock.
Dowsett suffers from A-type haemophilia, a condition that prevents his blood from clotting, and so has to be careful when crashing. He has been no stranger to the tarmac this season, however, as he came down during the Great Britain time trial championships in June, but still managed to beat Matt Bottrill (Drag2Zero) and former Sky teammate Ben Swift by 21 seconds and defend his title.
Assuming he has no longterm effects from his crash injuries, Dowsett’s next target will likely be the Tour of Britain, which starts on September 15th, which Movistar will ride for the first time. As national champion he will doubtlessly be eying the 16km stage three time trial at the Knowsley Safari park in the north west of England.