US champion Duggan crashes out of Tour Down Under

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Timothy Duggan has gotten his season off to a difficult start after crashing out of the Santos Tour Down Under with a broken collarbone. The US road race champion, who was a late signing to the Saxo-Tinkoff squad, came down on a roundabout featured in the Stirling circuit of stage 3.

Duggan was immediately taken to hospital, where directeur sportif Fabrizio Guidi was informed of the fracture. Surgery may be required, however, more will be known in the coming day as the rider was also suffering from knee pain.

"We don't have the full diagnosis because we are still waiting on some results for his knee," Guidi explained to Cyclingnews. "He has a fracture on his collarbone, maybe he needs surgery but it's unsure. Tomorrow morning we will know the situation.

"It was a bad crash. He arrived at a roundabout full-gas and was trying to pass some other guys and just lost control of the bike. He went down and the doctor was immediately there. He didn't lose consciousness.

"He was forced to stop because he could not walk or stand up. They brought him straight to the hospital."

Images of Duggan with a neck brace were a precautionary measure according to Guidi. Duggan's knee appears to be the only other potential injury at this point.

"This is the procedure [to use a neck brace]. They didn't know exactly so they did all the things they need to do in cases like this," said Guidi.

"When I arrived at the hospital I saw him and he was capable of talking. I expected something worse. He has pain in his knee but they are not sure."

Further details of Duggan's crash will be released as they come to light.

Injury update

It will be a while longer before Duggan can return home to the United States after the US champion underwent further diagnosis in Adelaide. The Saxo-Tinkoff rider can add multiple stitches and a fractured tibia to his list of injuries which already included a broken collarbone. Team director Guidi told Cyclingnews prior to the start of Stage 4 that doctors were still discussing the best hospital for his operation.

"He has a fractured tibia," said Guidi. "It's going to take a bit more time to get back on the bike. There's also some stitches on his arm and of course he needs surgery for the collarbone. The problem is the collarbone is the right one and the tibia is the left one. It's difficult for him to move.

"He will stay here [in Australia] and they are talking to the doctor of the team and the organisation to find the best place to have everything fixed. It's not good news.

"He was good and arrived here really strong and wanting to show us. He now needs time to recover and he will be back. It's the start of the season so he will be good by the end of the season. We will take care of him. He's a nice guy and also strong and he will be back."