More bad luck for the Dutch climber
Rabobank rider Laurens ten Dam has been involved in a car accident today that has further aggravated injuries sustained in a crash at the Tour de Suisse. The Dutchman went down hard in the second stage of the race resulting in a broken left wrist, two broken vertebrae, a broken chin, and a concussion. The Rabobank climber was rattled further when was hit from behind in the accident today causing additional pain in his neck and back.
“Following the accident Laurens has more pain in his back and neck,” said team doctor Dion van Bommel. “The situation is under control, we will watch him closely to see how it develops.”
Ten Dam’s recovery process had been going well up until now, and had already started back on the bike in a limited capacity. Van Bommel said he will re-evaluate his situation on Tuesday.
He was expected to be a key helper for teammate Denis Menchov in the mountains of the Tour de France, but the initial crash had already ruled out his participation in the event.
“It’s awful. I felt great on Saturday and Sunday. Racing uphill was even easy,” he said after the first incident. “I feel now that the altitude training benefits were really showing themselves. This is a tough blow. This is already the third Grand Tour start in the Netherlands that I will miss.”
Earlier this year Ten Dam cracked his hip at the Ruta del Sol in February, but was able to recover in time to ride the Volta a Catalunya.