American’s shoulder separated in impact, team will decide tomorrow if he continues
Best American rider in ninth place last year, Tom Danielson is this evening unsure whether or not he will be able to continue in the Tour de France.
The Garmin-Sharp rider fell heavily during the stage and experienced bad shoulder pain. He limped on to the finish, crediting his team-mates for their help, but ended up crossing the line nine minutes 11 seconds back in 175th place.
The time loss hurt, but not as much as his shoulder did. He went to hospital to have it checked and doctors diagnosed a potential-Tour ending injury there.
“He separated his shoulder, the same one he injured in the Vuelta,” team spokesperson Marya Pongrace told VeloNation. “We will see how he is doing tonight and tomorrow and make a call then as to whether he can stay in the race.”
Even if he can continue, Danielson will be bitterly disappointed with the outcome. He has worked very hard to be ready for this year’s race and was one of the Garmin-Sharp team’s protected leaders. Another, Christian Vande Velde, lost two minutes and eight seconds after being caught up in another incident, and so Giro d’Italia winner Ryder Hesjedal is the team’s sole remaining contender.
Danielson will give him support if he is able to stay in the race, but he won’t be pressurised to remain in the Tour if he is not able to do so. “Tom’s health is the priority here,” said Pongrace.