The German Milram team has had their fair share of injuries this season, and just as Fabian Wegmann returns to competition for the Ardennes Classics, Dutchman Wim Stroetinga will now be out with injury. Stroetinga broke his right hand after a crash in the final sprint of the GP Denain. The sprinter was one of four Milram riders involved in the pile-up, and doctors at a hospital in Amstelveen, Netherlands said he will require surgery.
"I got off to an unlucky start this season anyway," acknowledged the Milram rider. "I was continually set back by illness and now I have this injury. That is all very bitter but in sport, it can happen. The crash couldn't be predicted. We had a good sprint train built up and were in an optimal position for the closing sprint. All of a sudden there was a sideways jerk through the field and it caught us."
The Dutchman will now be forced to miss several weeks of competition to allow his injury to heal.