“After only 2km, I crashed at 50km/h. Bike, glasses, helmet were scrapped. And I [now] have lots of [new] tatoos! Nothing broken, but I have a sensitive rib when I breathe [hard] and climb [swaying]. 240km down the road, I finished 41st,” posted Parisien on Facebook.
“After a night spent at the hospital, I can happily confirm that I do not have fractured ribs!” reads a later post. “But I do have a deep hematoma situated in the right of my thoracic cage; I also have many abrasions. My next race is supposed to take place this Sunday in London, but this remains to be confirmed. I am still having some difficulties breathing and putting myself up on my bike. Stay put for more news!”
As reported previously, Parisien’s name was among those his team, Argos-Shimano, released of riders pre-selected for the prestigious 2013 Vuelta a España. Parisien, 31, was the 2005 Canadian road champ and earned his biggest career victory this season winning stage 5 at the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya WorldTour on March 22. This was the first win by a Quebecer on the WorldTour circuit.
The only other Canadian at Saturday’s San Sebastian Classic, Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) , did not finish – full results here.
Thanks to Pasquale Stalteri for sending us this news tip. – ed