Grabsch out with knee problems

Team Milram will have to do without veteran Ralf Grabsch in Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège . The 35 year-old injured his knee in Paris-Roubaix and then again a few days later in a training accident.

Writing on his personal website, ralf-grabsch.com, he said that in Paris-Roubaix he banged his kneecap on the handlebars so hard that the knee became very swollen. He was able to do some light training with some pain over the next few days. On Thursday, however, he was training in Germany's Eifel region and hit some sand in a curve on a descent. "I slid away and in doing so, banged my left kneecap again, this time on the end of the handlebar."

Grabsch is now doing only the lightest training and is undergoing treatment on the knee. He does not yet know whether he will be able to ride the Rund um Henninger Turm on May 1 in Frankfurt. (SW)