Ryder Hesjedal
Ryder crashed during Stage 1 and despite suffering a broken rib has been racing well since. Confirming the injury today with an x-ray will help medical staff continue to treat it.
Quote from Hesjedal: “I have had some discomfort since the crash I was involved in during Stage 1. A scan today confirmed a fracture so at least now we know what we’re dealing with. A lot of times with rib injuries fractures don’t show up right away so waiting until today we were able to confirm what’s going on. There’s not much you can do about a fractured rib except for deal with the discomfort so that is what I’ve been doing and will keep doing. I just hope Christian and everyone else who crashed today is ok.”
Christian Vande Velde:
Christian Vande Velde crashed during stage 5 of the Tour de France, 15 kilometers from the finish. According to team doctor, Prentice Steffen:
“Christian has plates in his collarbone from previous injuries. After today’s crash, an ultrasound and x-ray show a blood clot in a neck muscle (left sternocleidomastoid) and a loosened screw in his clavicle plate. From what we can tell, it is possible that the screw may have jabbed a muscle. Preliminary x-rays do not show a fracture but it probably flexed a bit in the crash and disrupted a screw. Its an unusual injury and we will monitor him over night and make a determination in the morning as to whether or not he will start the stage. Christian’s health is the most important thing to us, so we will evaluate him again tomorrow and determine next steps at that time.”