The Europcar team has started 2011 in excellent fashion. Thomas Voeckler notched up a stage win at the Tour Mediterraneén, Saïd Haddou sprinted to a stage over the Etoile Besseges, Yohan Gene stormed to two stage wins at the Tropicale Amissa Bongo, and Anthony Charteau took the overall win at the 2.1 ranked African race at the end of January.
The tide of success looks to be ebbing a bit though, as last year's Tour de France King of the Mountains, Charteau, came to grief today in the first stage of the Cell C Tour of South Africa.
The 31 year old crashed during the opening stage, which began in Pretoria. Charteau left in an ambulance. According to the Europcar team, a broken collarbone is the feared result of his tumble.
If the suspected diagnosis is confirmed, it will be an unfortunate loss for the Vendee team, which has been impressive so far this year. Charteau appears to be hitting his stride as one of the world's foremost climbers and will surely shine in some of the Spring's difficult races if he comes out of the crash in one piece.