Left leg and right collarbone take impact of downhill incident as well as a neck fracture
Kevin De Weert (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) was the only non-finisher of today’s Vuelta a España stage eleven time trial after the Belgian all-rounder crashed heavily on a downhill part of the final section. The 31-year-old abandoned the stage on the spot and was taken to the Miguel Servet hospital in Zaragoza, where he was diagnosed with several fractures.
In all, according to a statement from his team, De Weert sustained: “a fracture of the left tibia, a rupture of the patellar tendon of the left knee and also a fracture of the right collarbone. He was also diagnosed with a cervical fracture, without displacement and without neurological consequences.”
He reportedly never lost consciousness, despite the extent of his injuries. More information is expected to be released by Omega Pharma-Quick Step at some time tomorrow, but it looks very much as though the Belgian’s season is over.
De Weert was far from the only rider to come down during the 38.8km stage, as several were taken down by the blustery wind that crossed some of its exposed sections. One of those was Laurens ten Dam (Belkin), who managed to quickly remount and finish his race.
The incident meant that the Dutchman lost a total of 4’18” to stage winner Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Leopard), and slipped from 16th to 18th overall.
"I rode a good time trial but unfortunately, I crashed,” he said afterwards. “I had a good rhythm but when I put a bottle back in the cage, I was grabbed by a gust of wind and thrown in the air. Luckily, I found my cadence quickly again.
“I’ll have to wait and see how I feel tomorrow.”