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Andy Schleck pulls out of Tour de France with knee injury Andy Schleck pulls out of Tour de France with knee injury
(35 minutes later)
The 2010 Tour de France champion Andy Schleck has pulled out of this year’s event following a crash on the third stage from Cambridge to London.The 2010 Tour de France champion Andy Schleck has pulled out of this year’s event following a crash on the third stage from Cambridge to London.
“Very disappointed to let you know that I will not be able to start. My knee is too damaged from the crash. This is a huge blow for me,” he tweeted on Tuesday.“Very disappointed to let you know that I will not be able to start. My knee is too damaged from the crash. This is a huge blow for me,” he tweeted on Tuesday.
The Luxembourg rider was in a group that crashed after a spectator in Essex stepped into the road to take photographs and was caught by the Team Sky domestique David Garcia López. A group of riders went down behind him, among them Schleck, though his Trek team said his crash was not down to the fan.The Luxembourg rider was in a group that crashed after a spectator in Essex stepped into the road to take photographs and was caught by the Team Sky domestique David Garcia López. A group of riders went down behind him, among them Schleck, though his Trek team said his crash was not down to the fan.
“We are sad to announce that Andy Schleck cannot take the start today,” Trek said. “The ligaments and meniscus in the right knee are too severely damaged from his crash in yesterday’s final. He will travel to Basel now for examination and a possible operation.”“We are sad to announce that Andy Schleck cannot take the start today,” Trek said. “The ligaments and meniscus in the right knee are too severely damaged from his crash in yesterday’s final. He will travel to Basel now for examination and a possible operation.”
Schleck, who won the 2010 Tour retrospectively after Spain’s Alberto Contador was stripped of the title for doping, has been struggling since sustaining a hip injury in the 2012 Critérium du Dauphiné although he managed to get back to his feet and finish Monday’s stage.Schleck, who won the 2010 Tour retrospectively after Spain’s Alberto Contador was stripped of the title for doping, has been struggling since sustaining a hip injury in the 2012 Critérium du Dauphiné although he managed to get back to his feet and finish Monday’s stage.
Schleck added in a team statement: “This is a huge blow for me. I went on the rollers as soon as we arrived in Le Touquet, to get the muscles and tendons warmed up, but the pain is too much.
“I believed until that moment that I would start. I think I ignored the pain somehow, hiding it in the back of my head. I’m hugely disappointed. I was so happy to be here, racing with Frank in the Tour again.
“I’m sad to let the team down, to let Frank down. I was ready to help him defend his GC ambitions. I felt I was progressing, everything was coming back.”