Crash knocks Gesink out of Dutch Road Championships

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Robert Gesink failed to finish The Dutch Road Championships on Sunday after crashing during the neutralised start to the 228.8km race. The fall meant he could not perform at the expected level and instead went about duly performing team duties before withdrawing later in the race won by Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil-DCM).

"I had problems with it from the start. The race got off to a bad start and you try to ride through it, but you can imagine it’s not pleasant. We’ll have to see how serious it is,” said Gesink on his team site.

The crash during the weekend's race marks another blow for the rider who was given the news that his teammate Bauke Mollema would lead Blanco at the Tour de France. Gesink's disappointing ride at the Giro d'Italia where he pulled out following Stage 18's mountain time trial and Mollema's impressive ride at the Tour de Suisse led team management to re-assess the seemingly fragile Gesink's role in the French grand tour.

"Robert will have a relatively open role but will be expected to take care of Bauke in the high mountain stages together with Laurens," said directeur sportif Nico Verhoeven during the revealing of the Blanco team for the 100th edition of the Tour de France.

An update on Gesink's condition is not yet known but it would appear he is still on track to line-up on Corsica for the Grand Départ this coming Saturday.