Rabobank's Laurens ten Dam went down hard in the finale of today's stage in the Ruta del Sol, putting a bit of a damper of teammate Oscar Freire's stage win. The climber went down with 300 meters left in the stage and was rushed to the hospital for injuries to his head and hip.
The other riders involved included Lampre's Damiano Cunego, Milram's Linus Gerdemann and Omega Pharma-Lotto's Jelle Vanendert. Vanendert also appeared to be seriously injured.
According to Rabosport, Rabobank's team manager Frans Maassen said a strong wind had blown a crowd control barrier into the course which left the charging riders with nowhere to go. Ten Dam has suffered scrapes and abrasions and will have x-rays done to see the extent of the damage done to his hip.
"It was bit of a shock [ten Dam's crash], but Lau is tough as nails," explained Maassen, "We'll just have to wait to see what the x-rays tell us about his hip."
The riders set off with sunny skies, but were faced with constant wind on the 182.2 kilometer stage to Cordoba. With a rain-soaked mountain top finish the previous day that required a lot of energy, the conditions made the fast run into the finish extremely difficult. Team leaders Cunego and Gerdemann were fortunate to escape without serious injury, although the Lampre rider was favoring his right arm across the line.