In the 2011 Tour de France, a media car ran into Juan Flecha, who ran into Johnny Hoogerland. Hoogerland had the unfortunate experience of flipping over a barbed wire fence. Despite the pain and blood, Hoogerland finished the stage and took the KOM jersey. If you don't remember this incident, feel free to read my blog post about it here: The Stage 9 Crash.
I feel like Hoogerland has to be one of the most unlucky riders in the peloton, as he is now in the intensive care unit after another accident on Sunday:
Hoogerland hospitalized after training accident
Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil-DCM) is in the hospital this evening after a collision with a car while out training. The Dutch rider sustained fractured ribs and will spend the night in hospital before he undergoes further tests.
Hoogerland had been training in Spain ahead of the Tour Méditerranée.
In a press statement the team said, "The rider of Vacansoleil-DCM was going slightly downhill in front of the scooter which was going to motopace him for another hour or so. A turning car didn't see the rider coming and hit the unfortunate Hoogerland."
The team added that they will release more information on Monday.
Although I haven't seen any more details released about Hoogerland's condition on cyclingnews.com, I did learn on Twitter that he has "five broken ribs, cracks off vertebrae 8 through 12, and a bruised liver" (Source: Twitter via Jose Been / TourdeJose.)
Get well soon Johnny!!!
There was another crash yesterday that I wanted to mention: Sacha Modolo. This was the rider that crossed the finish line second to Mark Cavendish on the first stage of this year's Tour de San Luis. Modolo then came back and out-sprinted Cavendish the next day. I had never heard of Modolo until the Tour de San Luis, but I put him on my Fantasy Cycling team for the first stage of the Tour of Qatar.
Other than checking how well I scored in the stage, I hadn't really looked over the results or report on the Tour of Qatar, and while I was trying to figure out my Team Time Trial roster, I couldn't decide if I wanted to keep Modolo for future sprints or bring in an extra BMC rider for the TTT. My instant gratification won out, and I traded Modolo. When I woke up and checked up on stage two, I was surprised that he had been in a crash on Sunday, and didn't start. I'm glad I listened to my gut and took him off my team, but it is always sad to see a rider in a crash.
Modolo quits the Tour of Qatar
Italian sprinter Sacha Modolo (Bardiani Valvole – CSF Inox) has been forced to quit the Tour of Qatar after x-rays confirmed he fractured his scaphoid in his wrist. Initial reports said Modolo had fractured his left scaphoid. The team has today reported it his right wrist.
Modolo went to hospital in Doha before the start of the stage two team time trial. On his return, his teammates headed out for the 14km test against the lock while Modolo prepared to return to Italy.
“Due to a distraction, I fell down trying to rider over a step," Modolo said in a statement from the team.
"I’m sorry for the team, I arrived here with a good shape and the aim to achieve some good results in Qatar and then in Oman. Now I have to recover as quickly as possible and reschedule the first part of season from scratch."
Sacha Modolo travel Italy today and hopes to quickly begin training on an indoor-trainer. He had shown his early-season form by beating Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma - Quick-Step) to win stage two of the Tour de San Luis.
Get well soon Sacha!! We can't wait to have you back!
