Hopes to race Gippingen in two weeks time
BMC Racing’s Marcus Burghardt was forced to withdrawal from the Amgen Tour of California Saturday following a crash. The German went down in the feed zone along with teammate Chris Butler and injured his right elbow.
“Already in the race, I felt that I couldn’t bend it,” Burghardt said. “I couldn’t pull on the bars.”
He was taken to the hospital after the race’s 217 kilometer Queen Stage from Palmdale to Big Bear Lake on Friday.
“It’s possible he has a little fracture of the radius,” explained the team’s physician Dr. Max Testa. “We need to repeat the X-ray in a couple days to see. But if it is a fracture, it is a small fracture – most likely in an area that doesn’t require anything but rest.”
Burghardt was scheduled to travel to to Salt Lake City Saturday, where he will undergo additional examinations.
“For sure, it’s not the perfect moment to have a possible break because my form is going well,” said a disappointed Burghardt. “But I hope that I can race in two weeks at Gippingen and for sure at the Tour de Suisse.”