Bora-hansgrohe shows concerns about TDF roster following Dauphine and Lombardia crashes
Aug 16 2020 09:22 pm CET
Bora-hansgrohe
Bora-hansgrohe is concerned about the roster for the Tour de France as three of its riders suffered crashes at the Criterium du Dauphine and Il Lombardia.
Emanuel Buchmann and Gregor Mülhberger crashed during a dangerous descent at the fourth stage of the Criterium du Dauphine -in the same incident that affected Steven Kruijswijk- and had to retire from the competition. The German suffered a large haematoma and the Austrian hit his wrist but fractures have been ruled out for now.
"It's dramatic when the riders crash out of a race so shortly before the Tour (de France)," said sports director Enrico Poitschke to German website rasdport-news.com. "They were in a good position, and they didn't do anything wrong. Riders crashed in from of them and the two didn't stand a chance.
"Both suffered heavy hits, but luckily nothing is broken. But it can take many days to recover before they can train again. In terms of the Tour, this is a major setback."
On top of this, Max Schachmann was hit by a car that invaded the course of Il Lombardia and ended up with a fracture. "He broke his collarbone," Poitschke explained. "And we don't know how quickly he can return to training and how quickly it will heal. We only have two weeks until the Tour. There is also a big question mark about how things will go on.
"We have to be realistic. If three of the best riders have a bad crash and are unable to train for many days, you can't expect them to ride at the Tour at top level. We will try our best. The riders are still motivated but that's a major setback. Unfortunately, we can't do anything and have to accept it as it is."
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