Team Sky's Edvald Boasson Hagen will be forced to miss the start in this weekend's Tour of Flanders. The team said the Norwegian is still suffering from Achilles tendinitis, something that has caused him problems following the year's first major Classic, Milano-Sanremo. The medical team and senior management of Team Sky have decided the best decision was to replace him with Greg Henderson this weekend so he can recover and focus on Paris-Roubaix.
“We’re making a prudent decision regarding Edvald’s injury and by way of precautionary measure, this is for sure the right thing to do. He is on the right road to recovery, but since he still has some problems with his Achilles, we’re not taking any risks. By doing so, he’ll still be able to train progressively and focus on Paris-Roubaix and hopefully be able to make his mark there,” explained Team Sky’s senior sports director, Scott Sunderland.
The 22-year-old suffered from stomach problems in Milan-Sanremo, his first Classic as a team leader, and will now look towards the "Hell of the North" for redemption.
“I’m sad miss out on Tour of Flanders as I have been looking forward to this race for a long time. But I still haven’t gotten completely rid of my tendinitis, so I need to save myself a little, so I can still be competitive in Paris-Roubaix. This is clearly not what I had hoped for, but I’m very hopeful that I have a good chance of getting ready for Paris-Roubaix and that race is still a very big goal for me,” said Edvald Boasson Hagen.