21 year old hits the pavement at 65kph
The French Cofids team’s young sensation Jens Keukeleire crashed in training on Wednesday and broke his wrist. The 21 year old was riding behind a scooter at the time, and was unable to avoid a large stone in the road. He went over the bars at close to 65kph and hit the ground hard.
Initially the young Belgian thought he had gotten away without any broken bones, but awoke Thursday morning with more pain. X-rays revealed that the scaphoid bone in his wrist was broken.
Keukeleire first appeared in the headlines this March when he won two races in three days – the GP Samyn and the opening stage of the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen. He went on to secure enough podium spots to take the overall victory in West Flanders.
He then won the prestigious Nokere Koerse Belgian classic, and followed it up with an 18th place finish in his last race in mid-April, the GP de Denain Porte du Hainaut. He took the start in Paris-Roubaix and the Driedaagse De Panne, but was only there to gain experience. He didn’t finish either race due to his young age.
His Cofidis team is currently trying to extend his contract to 2012 to eliminate the possibility of losing the up and coming talent when his contract expires in 2011. His manager Nico Mattan had given the team until mid-month to work out an agreement, but no new developments have been reported.