Tom Dumoulin to put full focus on recovery, Vuelta a España participation is uncertain
Jul 10 2019 07:44 pm CET
Photo of Tom Dumoulin © Team Sunweb
Tom Dumoulin's knee injury is more serious than expected. The rider of Team Sunweb hasn't been able to recover from the hit he suffered on his knee at the fourth stage of the Giro d'Italia.
Dumoulin hit the deck at the last stretch of the fourth stage of the Italian grand tour. Although at first it didn't seem that serious, the rider had to withdraw from the race with a swollen knee and a lot of pain from which he didn't recover soon.
The rider started in the Criterium du Dauphine and had to withdraw due to discomfort in the place of the hit and it was later discovered that he still had a piece of gravel inside, which was removed surgically before he was set to start a high altitude training ahead of the Tour de France. Dumoulin gave up on his intention of starting in the second grand tour of the year and now it's known that his appearance in the third big race may also be at risk.
After the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported that a new MRI done to the knee of the winner of the 2017 Giro d'Italia, has unveiled a tear in a tendon, Team Sunweb has confirmed that the rider is still on his way to recovery and that indeed a tendon seems to present the most complex injury.
"As we all know Tom crashed hard in the Giro and the impact caused several different injuries to his bone, tendon, cartilage and soft tissue within his knee,” said Team Sunweb physician Anko Boelens.
“We closely monitored the injuries via MRI scans and step by step, together with Tom, determined the optimum between rest, training and treatment. At the moment, the tendon is the limiting factor. For the last three weeks, the focus on making it to the TDF has been shifted to a focus on full recovery and that will continue to be the case in the next period."
Depending on how long the knee will take to recover, the participation of the rider in the Vuelta a España is in doubt. The Spanish grand tour is set to start in Torrevieja on the 24th of August.
SUBSCRIBE TO RSS FEEDS