Gert Steegmans Update

March 8th, 2010 by Al Fresco View Comments

Mark Gunter/AFP/Getty Images

Team RadioShack’s Gert Steegmans broke his left collarbone in the Prologue of Paris-Nice after reportedly being “picked… up off the ground” by a whirlwind while he was going 75kph on a downhill section of the course.

Steegmans, who was expected to be the team’s leader in the Classics, also suffered road rash on large portions of his body.

Steegmans was taken to the Our Lady of van Lourdes Hospital in Waregem, Belgium where the left collar bone fracture was fixed with a solid plate and nine screws. He will most likely be able to ride on the rollers within a week, but will be excluded from competition for a longer period. If no complications occur, the doctors expect a full recovery after eight weeks.

The road rash on the left side of his body was cleaned and will probably heal over the next few weeks. A hospitalization of two days is expected.

He will give a press conference – no individual interviews – in the hospital on Tuesday, March 9th.

Tags: Belgium, collarbone, cycling, Gert Steegmans, Paris, Paris-Nice, prologue, Team Radioshack