Geraint Thomas will focus on preparing for the Tour de France after crashing out on stage four of the Tour de Suisse yesterday.
Last year’s Tour de France winner said it was a small setback and there was still plenty of time to recover fully before the start of the event in Brussels on July 6.
“We will recalibrate and I’m sure my coach Tim [Kerrison] will have a plan in place to ensure I’m ready.”
Thanks for all your messages!! Gutted to leave @tds but luckily I’m all ok. I hit my head and needed stitches above my eye, so the doctors stopped me getting back on my bike. It just means I’ll need some big training rides next week now🙈👍
— Geraint Thomas (@GeraintThomas86) June 19, 2019
Explaining how the crash occurred, Thomas said as he headed into the final 30km of the stage there was a lip in the road that came out of nowhere.
“An Astana rider hit the lip and crashed and I had nowhere to go,” he explained.
“I landed on my shoulder and face and there was quite a bit of blood. You’ve always got to be cautious with a head injury and whilst I was keen to carry on the doctors made the right decision to pull me out of the race.”
The 33-year-old Welsh cyclist was alert and speaking to the team after the crash, but was taken to hospital for a thorough examination.
He suffered abrasions on his shoulder and a cut above his right eye, but fortunately no further injuries.
.@GeraintThomas86 has escaped relatively unscathed following today’s crash at the #TourDeSuisse.
We’ve got a full update including reaction from Geraint and Team INEOS Doctor Derick Macleod.
— Team INEOS (@TeamINEOS) June 18, 2019
“He’s been given the all clear which is great but we will continue to monitor him over the next few days,” said team doctor Derick Macleod.
“Knowing Geraint, it won’t take him long to get back on his bike but we’ll need to ensure he’s symptom-free in the next few days before he does so. We’re optimistic he’ll make a full recovery over the coming days though and, all being well, he’ll be back on his bike very soon.”
