Big downer for Lotto Soudal in the Vuelta. Steff Cras became the first quitter on Saturday after he suffered a serious fall. The verdict for the 26-year-old Kempenaar is hard: fracture of the right elbow, and scaphoid and the left pinky finger.
Maarten Delvaux in Utrecht, jpdv
Steff Cras had come to the Vuelta a España with ambitions. Lotto Soudal’s climber finished twentieth in the Vuelta last year and had expressed a quiet hope to do better this year. But in the nervous final of the second stage – from ‘s-Hertogenbosch to Utrecht – things went very wrong. Cras crashed at high speed together with his teammate Kamil Malecki and Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious). Malecki and Poels were able to continue, badly battered, Cras lay there moaning in pain and felt for his arms. In the hospital of Utrecht, the severe verdict came: fracture of the right elbow and scaphoid (wrist joint) and the left little finger.
Gerben Thijssen also uncertain for Sunday
Cras was not the only compatriot who fell on the way to Utrecht. Sprinter Gerben Thijssen also hit the asphalt 500 meters from the finish in preparation for the sprint. The 24-year-old rider of Intermarché – Wanty – Gobert crossed the finish line with clear abrasions. “I don’t really care about the abrasions”, Thijssen reacted to Sporza. “I’m a bit used to pain. My ankle hurts the most. We are going to have a few more scans taken for that. We’ll wait until tomorrow anyway to decide if I’ll start again. If I’m able to drive, I’ll drive anyway. I’m not just going to give it away.”
Later in the evening, doctor Ruben De Gendt came with an update. “The studies were fairly positive. There were no fractures or serious injuries, but Gerben is still in a lot of pain. We’ll have to see how it goes in the morning and if he can start.”
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