Still hope for a late season comeback
While the Tour de France has been the prime stage for battering and breaking riders so far in June, the traditional training time run-ins continue unabated outside of the warring confines of the Grand Boucle.
Astana’s former Italian Road Race champion, 28-year-old Enrico Gasparotto, came to grief in training on Tuesday in Valtellina on wet roads and broke his collarbone.
The former wearer of the Maglia Rosa at the Giro has had a solid 2010 campaign so far, which has included a stage win at Tirreno-Adriatico in March and a 3rd place finish behind Philippe Gilbert and Ryder Hesjedal in Holland’s national classic, the Amstel Gold Race.
Gasparotto failed to make the Astana selection for the Tour de France, but was certainly harboring hopes for a strong second half of the season. While a race like the Clasica San Sebastian will now be out of the question, there should still be plenty of time for a late season build, which could give the all-arounder some solid possibilities in the end of season Classics.