Tom Boonen will require shoulder surgery after a crash on Monday that knocked the classics star out of Paris-Nice and ruined his plans to race Ronde Van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix.
His Etixx-Quick-Step team said that, overnight, Boonen experienced pain in his left elbow. He underwent further examination at a Belgian clinic in Herentals, Tuesday morning, and the examination revealed a compound fracture to head of the radius. The fracture of the radius won’t require surgery, and it will be treated with a cast.
In agreement with the team medical staff, Boonen will undergo operation Wednesday in order to fix the AC joint dislocation in his shoulder. Doctors confirmed that he had suffered a grade-three AC joint dislocation.
“I’m really disappointed; for the third time in a row something unfortunate happened that affected the classics,” Boonen said. “Every time because of different circumstances. It was a stupid crash with big consequences at Paris-Nice yesterday.
“We were with four teammates in the back and had just brought our jackets to the car, and as others in the peloton were doing; we took a nature break for the last time before heading back to the front. That was the plan for us. The stage was very easy, long roads, and nobody was nervous. But all of a sudden there was a hold-up. I had to do a brake maneuver, but while braking you cannot steer your wheel as you normally do. I touched my teammate, Nikolas Maes’s wheel and crashed. In two seconds I realized that my classics season was over. I imagined it differently and I was ready for the classics. But I can’t change what happened, and it is something I need to accept.”
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