Belgian finished the race despite being ‘doored’ by a team car after stage 11
Iljo Keisse (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) is facing an enforced break from racing after being diagnosed with a fractured 4th metacarpal bone in his left hand. The Belgian track star sustained the injury in an incident after the eleventh stage of the Giro d’Italia, but still managed to complete the three-week race.
“It was a simple, non-racing accident,” Keisse explained. “At the end of the 11th Stage of the Giro I was going back to the team bus when suddenly somebody opened the door of one of the nearby team cars, which were parked on the side of the road. I hit the door with my hand and I felt immediate pain.
“The day after I had a scan of my hand, which didn’t underline any kind of fracture,” he added. “I continued the Giro until the end, but then once I was at home the pain remained. Yesterday I had another scan that underlined a fracture. It’s a pity, but that’s also part of our job.”
Keisse will have to wear a cast on his hand for three weeks but, thankfully, the enforced layoff that he will have to undergo coincides with a post-Giro break, which he was to take anyway, as he recovers from the exertions of the Giro and prepares for his next period of racing.
“Fortunately, in any case, I had to already take a period of rest without racing,” he confirmed. “I will take advantage of this period off to spend more time with my family.”