Belgian rider not as badly hurt as initially feared

Initial concerns that Tom Boonen’s crash could have spelt an end to his spring have eased somewhat, although it remains to be seen if he will be able to participate in Paris-Roubaix. The Belgian rider crashed out of the Ronde van Vlaanderen after twenty kilometres today, going down hard after apparently hitting some road furniture.



Omega Pharma Quick Step manager Patrick Lefevere’s initial reaction was that his spring campaign was over, but after being taken to hospital in Roeselare Boonen’s injuries were not as bad as initially feared.



The 2012 Flanders winner suffered a contusion to his left hip plus a wound on his left elbow. He received stitches for a wound to his right knee. However there was good news for the rider: X-rays showed that he had suffered no fractures, thus speeding his recovery time.



While his crash is clearly not ideal, particularly in view of his disrupted spring and his crash in last Sunday’s Gent-Wevelgem, the absence of fractures makes the situation less serious.



According to directeur sportif Wilfried Peeters, a decision is yet to be made about his participation in Paris-Roubaix. “Tom complained of pain in his back and his hip. We did not want to take risks,” he told Sporza. Asked if his spring campaign was indeed over, as Lefevere initially suggested, Peeters was reluctant to come to any conclusions. “I will first wait for the diagnosis, but it’s barely a week to Paris-Roubaix. This is short notice, of course.



“2013 is not the best spring for Boonen. Last year, everything went well but sometimes also against,” he said. “This is one of the years where it is all adversity.”