Injury forces change to BMC Racing Team lineup
A hip injury which arose towards the end of the 2011 season is dragging on for the Australian Tim Roe, and will prevent him from being able to take part in his big home race, the Santos Tour Down Under.
The 22 year old showed his ability in 2010 when, as a Savings & Loans rider, he won the Jelajah Malaysia and picked up two stage wins in the Tour of Korea. That earned him a contract with the Trek Livestrong squad and then the BMC Racing Team.
He believes the strain of his first season at WorldTour level caused the issue. “It’s probably due to my increased workload and how hard the racing was,” he said. “For sure, this is disappointing. I would have loved to have raced my home race, but I know how hard it is to get ready for the season and this will help make my body right.”
His place in the race will be taken by the Swiss rider Mathias Frank, who showed his climbing ability when he won the mountains classification in the 2010 Tour de Suisse and finished sixth overall in the same race this season.
Roe will continue to work with BMC Racing Team staff to rectify the issue. “We will re-evaluate Tim this week, but we do expect him to be able to participate in training camp next month,” said chief medical officer Dr. Max Testa.
He is able to train and is making adjustments to his bike in order to help sort out the problem.