Surgery for Sørensen after wheel incident

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One of the most combative riders in the Tour de France, Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank's Chris Anker Sørensen is uncertain for the start of stage 18 after injuring his hand on the route to Peyregudes.

Sørensen went on the attack on the day's first climb and was still away in the breakaway when a piece of newspaper became lodged in his front wheel. The Dane tried to remove it, but got his fingers caught in the wheel.

The resulting deep cuts to his fingers were bandaged during the stage, but still quite gruesome in appearance when he came across the line 80km later, his bar tape red with blood.

"After consultancy with the race surgeon, we're now rushing to the hospital in Toulouse where he's to undergo surgery on his fingers. It's still too early to determine whether or or not he'll be on the start line tomorrow," said the team's press officer Anders Damgaard.

According to sporten.dk, the rider will need to have a skin graft to repair 1.5cm of missing skin from his left hand.