Primoz Roglic admits ‘the situation is far from good’ as he shows off his bandages after suffering awful crash at Stage 3 of the Tour de France… but the Slovenian cyclist insists he WILL continue
- Primoz Roglic was covered in bandages after a bad fall at the Tour de France
- The Slovenian cyclist said he was touched by messages of support from fans
- He admitted ‘the situation is not good’ but vowed to continue on in France
Slovenian cyclist Primoz Roglic admits ‘the situation is far from good’ as he showed off his body covered in bandages following a horrific crash at the Tour de France – but claimed he will continue on at the race.
Last year’s runner-up slipped to 20th in the overall standings after his heavy fall with just over 10km remaining on stage 3 having come together with Sonny Colbrelli – who claims their ‘handlebars got caught together’.
Roglic was seen riding away again with a nasty-looking gash on his left shoulder after recovering, but the Jumbo rider was seen limping towards an ambulance before having scans to determine the extent of his injuries.
Slovenian cyclist Primoz Roglic admits ‘the situation is far from good’ after his crash at Stage 3 as he showed off the extent of his injuries
He was left with a nasty looking gash on his shoulder after falling 10km from the end
The 31-year-old took to social media to thank fans for their support and well wishes after his crash as well as revealing a huge number of wounds, adding that he was not in a good condition but still planned to get back on the bike.
‘The situation is far from good,’ Roglic said in an Instagram post.
‘But I had to smile, reading all the good wishes and positive thoughts you had sent me. The mummy will be on the start today and we will see how it goes!
‘Hvala. Thank you. Merci.’
Despite Colbrelli racing close to Roglic at the time of the crash, the Italian, of Bahrain Victorious, has distanced himself from any blame.
Roglic thanked fans for their support and vowed to continue on at the race despite his wounds
‘Obviously, you never like to see anyone crash in a bike race. The crash with [Roglic] was unfortunate. The bunch was moving from left to right on the narrow roads in the finale of the stage, he said on his team’s Twitter account.
‘Roglic came from behind me to move up, and our handlebars got caught together, which almost pulled us both to the ground.
‘It was only luck that I remained up on the bike. My reaction after the crash was more out of fear than anything else. I’m really sorry for [Roglic], and wish it didn’t happen, but I don’t believe I’m to blame.’
Roglic was not the only rider to suffer a crash at the Tour de France as another day was marred by bad falls – with 2018 winner Geraint Thomas also hitting the tarmac, reportedly dislocating his shoulder.
It was another day of crashes as 2018 winner Geraint Thomas hit the ground with a bad fall
Caleb Ewan (right) also suffered a crash after his front wheel slid from under him, taking down Peter Sagan with him
Thomas crashed less than 25 miles into the 114-mile stage, and it appeared his race might be over as he sat on the road in pain and fell three minutes behind the peloton.
But after having his shoulder popped back in, he remounted and lost just 26sec by the finish. He is 67sec off the overall leader.
An X-ray on Monday night confirmed the Welshman had not suffered a fracture, but he will be reassessed this morning ahead of the first time trial on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Robert Gesink, of Team Jumbo, was forced to abandon after being hurt in a fall, while Caleb Ewan took Peter Sagan down with him after his front wheel slid from underneath him.
Belgian Tim Merlier ended up claiming his first Tour stage victory, with the returning Mark Cavendish not even contesting the sprint after being caught up behind an earlier pile-up.