Roman Kreuziger has withdrawn from the Czech Team for Sunday’s World championship road race in Copenhagen, Denmark, according to Het Nieuwsblad. The Astana rider is still reportedly suffering the niggling after effects of the fractured wrist that he sustained in the Tour de France, back in July, and feels that racing on the twisting city circuit would be too much of a risk.
“The circuit in Copenhagen is quite technical and therefore dangerous for me,” Kreuziger said. “It would be too risky for me to make my comeback in a race like this.”
Having switched from Liquigas – where he had spent his entire career to date – to Astana in 2011, Kreuziger was enjoying a very successful season. Fourth place in Liège-Bastogne-Liège was followed by sixth place in the Giro d’Italia, where he also won the white young riders’ jersey, but it all went wrong in the Tour de France.
After losing almost two minutes on the first day, as he was delayed behind a crash, Kreuziger was then one of the many fallers on the seventh stage. Although it was initially thought that the Czech had escaped broken bones, and he struggled on to finish the race, it was discovered after the race that he had in fact broken the scaphoid bone of his left wrist.
Kreuziger had a cast fitted to his wrist at the end of July, which was only removed on September 6th, it was discovered that the navicular bone had not knitted properly though, and since then he has had the recovering injury supported by a splint.
Although he has been able to train, Kreuziger has not raced since the Tour de France, and feels that the prospect of crashing on the Copenhagen is not worth the risk.
In the absence of Kreuziger, the Czech Team for Sunday’s race has been reduced to NetApp rider Jan Barta and PSK Whirlpool-Author’s Petr Bencik. Whether he will be replaced by reserve František Rabon of HTC-Highroad, who rode Wednesday’s time trial, has not yet been announced.