Cycling: Bitter start to the season for Marcus Burghardt – the BMC pro broke his elbow in a fall during the third stage of the Tour Down Under yesterday and will be out for an indefinite period. The team announced this via Facebook.
It happened just under 20km before the stage finish on the descent of the Corkscrew Climb. Five riders went down hard in a slight corner in unclear circumstances including Marcus Burghardt and Tyler Farrar (Dimension Data). Although all drivers were able to continue driving after a short time, they all felt the consequences of the crash. Farrar noticed a few minutes later that his rear derailleur was malfunctioning and finished the stage on the bike of a spectator who had rushed to the side of the road to help.
However, Marcus Burghardt was hit harder. Although the 32-year-old from Saxony dragged himself to the stage finish in pain, examinations by the medical team revealed that the BMC professional had broken his left elbow in the fall. Burghardt, however, is combative immediately after the diagnosis: “Unfortunately I have to retire from the race due to a fracture in my left elbow. I'm really sorry, but I will come back. After a low comes a high,“ writes the Gent-Wevelgem winner of 2007 on Facebook.
We wish Marcus and all other fallen victims a speedy recovery!
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