After suffering a bad crash in yesterday’s queen stage of the 2017 Tour de France, BORA-hangrohe leader Rafal Majka has decided to leave the race.
The BORA – hansgrohe leader suffers from heavy contusions and abrasions as a result of the crash. After some rest to recover, Majka will refocus and prepare for the rest of the season.
“I have pain everywhere today, but I was lucky to have no fractures at all,” Majka said today. “I cannot explain exactly what happened when I crashed. I didn’t break or anything, but my front wheel slipped away. Also Risto, our mechanic, almost fell when he arrived with the spare bike. There must have been some oil or something similar on the road. However, after the crash I suffered a lot. I want to thank my whole BORA – hansgrohe team, everybody waited for me first, but we told Emanuel to go and save our chances in the GC, then Jay was with me and brought me up to the next bigger group. Also thanks to Michal Kwiatkowski who helped me in the end.
“After this heavy crash, it does not make any sense to keep on fighting. I can hardly breath because of the pain. We had to take a wise decision, for my health, but also for the rest of the season. I’ll take some rest now, then I will start preparing myself for the rest of the season.”
“Directly after the stage we went to the medical truck of the Tour, but decided to go to the hospital for further examinations and to be sure that especially his spine is ok. He suffers from heavy contusions and can hardly breath because of the pain. He also lost a lot of skin and has some deep excoriations. From a safety perspective it’s best to leave the Tour now and take some rest to recover.” – Jan-Niklas Droste, Team Doctor
“Another big blow for us at this Tour. We took one stage with Peter, but still the luck is not on our side at all. Now the most important thing is that Rafal can fully recover and take some rest. His focus is now fully on the Vuelta.” – Enrico Poitschke, Sports Director
Ron is the chief cook and bottlewasher at Bike World News, doing everything from website design to bike reviews.
Websites:
Bike World News
Ron’s Bike Garage
Current Bike Quiver:
Bird Bikes Zero 29 29″ hardtail mountain bike
Commencal Absolut 26″ Dirt Jump/Pump Track bike
Commencal Tempo 29″ full suspension mountain bike
Felt ZA 700c race bike
Kona Kilauea vintage 26″ mountain bike
Niner RLT9 700c road/gravel bike
Specialized Stumpjumper vintage 26″ mountain bike
Day Job: Digital Marketing
Night Job: Digital Marketing, eCommerce Consultant, Web Consultant, Bike Shop Operator, Husband, Dad, Tenor