There were understandably a long list of riders abandoning in the miserable weather and split apart racing of Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday but many were left with no other option after a crash-heavy men’s and women’s editions of the race.
There was no shortage of riders coming down in the slippery conditions of either event, but one of the worst crashes in the 163km women’s edition came at around 45km to go when a rider fell near the front of the lead group and the chain reaction then took out a large chunk of it. Multiple Trek-Segafredo riders were involved, with the one coming off worst being the Australian rider Brodie Chapman in the second row who fell hard and without warning as her wheels were suddenly taken out from the side.
“Brodie was taken to a local hospital after her crash during Gent-Wevelgem where X-ray examinations revealed a fracture of the sacral s3 bone,” said Trek Segafredo in a Twitter pos (opens in new tab)t confirming the fracture in the large triangular bone at the bottom of the spine. “Furthermore, tests have shown that she is suffering from a mild concussion. Fortunately, a CT scan shows no damage to the cranium. Brodie will spend the night in hospital and will be closely monitored by our medical team. We’re wishing Brodie the very best for her recovery.”
Australian champion Chapman, will now be another strong support rider missing from the Trek-Segafredo line-up for the next all important round of spring races, with Lauretta Hanson also off the bike for a minimum of six weeks after sustaining multiple fractures at Nokere Koerse.
The team added that its other Gent Wevelgem crash victims Elisa Balsamo, Ilaria Sanguineti and Lucinda Brand have some minor abrasions but other than that are ok.
Another crash, around 10km from the end of the women’s race also saw Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx), who is expected to be a key rider for team at Tour of Flanders, come down and take Elena Cecchini with her as well as a handful of other riders. The team, which won with solo attacker Marlen Reusser, said Cecchini did not suffer consequences and “also Lorena Wiebes is okay at first sight, but considering the high impact of the crash, we leave nothing to chance and will further evaluate the situation in the coming days.”
In the men’s race those who were forced to abandon after crashes included Jelle Wallays (Cofidis), Lukasz Wiśniowski (EF Education-EasyPost), Michał Kwiatkowski and his Ineos Grenadiers teammate Filippo Ganna.
“It was…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…