Geraint Thomas Crashes out of Tour de Suisse
Tour de France defense in Jeopardy as Thomas is taken to Hospital. Rumors are Thomas has fractured his Clavicle
Another bad week for Team Ineos as Geraint Thomas was seen lying in the road with 30 kms to go on Stage 4 of the Tour de Suisse.
Thomas looks to have been involved in a small crash involving a couple of riders, Thomas was seen with bad cuts and abrasions to his right should and right eye and was taken to hospital.
Ineos later reported that Thomas had "abrasions to his shoulder and a cut above his right eye," which were visible as he gazed into space sat on the road where he fell.
"He was part of a two-man crash," Ineos said after it appeared Thomas was brought down by Astana's Andrey Zeits, "There was a lot of road furniture about and a rider crashed in front of Geraint," Ineos sports director Gabriel Rasch said, "He got a little cut over his eyebrow which was bleeding. The doctor felt it was safest to take him to the hospital for further checks. We'll have to wait until they check him properly and then we’ll know more."
Rasch suggested the tough Tour de France champion had wanted to get back in the saddle, "I think all riders are the same. They want to go back to the bike and race. But thankfully we have a doctor in the car and it's his decision to make."
Ineos described Thomas as clearly disappointed, but said he "was quickly sat up and speaking to team and race medical personnel at the roadside".
Update: X-Rays and Scans Come Back Clear
Team Ineos doctor Derick Macleod said in a team press release. "Geraint took a heavy fall, the main area of impact was to his head. He passed his initial concussion roadside test, but with the nature and severity of the impact, it was felt unsafe for him to continue in the race. He was taken to hospital and thankfully all the X-rays and scans have come back clear. He's now back in the team hotel and in good spirits."
"He's been given the all clear, which is great, but we will continue to monitor him over the next few days," Macleod said. "Knowing Geraint, it won’t take him long to get back on his bike, but we'll need to ensure he's symptom free in the next few days before he does so. We're optimistic he'll make a full recovery over the coming days, though, and all being well he'll be back on his bike very soon."
Hopefully Thomas can recover quickly and focus on defending his Tour de France title in July.
The incident comes less than a week after his Ineos teammate, four-time Tour de France champion Froome broke a leg, hip, elbow and ribs in a horrific fall in the Criterium du Dauphine.
Team Ineos still have Colombian protege Egan Bernal in the running for victory here, he showed true class when winning Paris-Nice in March, and the 22-year-old all rounder is the bookies favourite for victory in France this July.