Moncoutié crashes out with broken leg

The wet and mountainous conditions of Saturday's stage 4 of the Tour of Romandie meant crashes were almost inevitable. One victim was Frenchman David Moncoutié (Cofidis), who fractured his left femur according to L'Equipe.

Coming down the Cat. 1 climb on the Pilon, the Moncoutié and his breakaway companions faced awful conditions, with heavy rain, a wet road, and even fog. Although everyone was riding carefully, Moncoutié slipped, apparently on the stripe in the road, and fell.

It at first looked as if he was uninjured, but the 32-year-old was soon lying on the side of the road, waiting for medical transport. Moncoutié will undergo an operation Saturday evening in Lausanne, Switzerland.

There is no word yet on how long he will be out of competition as a result of the break; however his participation in the Tour de France and likely the rest of the season is now in jeopardy. Moncoutié won two stages of the Tour de France during his career: Stage 11 (Saint-Flour to Figeac) in 2004 and Stage 12 (Briançon to Digne-les-Bains) in 2005.

This injury marks the second year of misfortune Moncoutié. Last March, he wounded his knee in a fall during the Critérium International. A side effect of that injury, patellar tendonitis, put a premature end to his 2006 season, and he only recently resumed competition in the GP Indurain in April.

See Cyclingnews full coverage of the 2007 Tour of Romandie here.