Vanthourenhout out with injury

Sven Vanthourenhout will be out of competition for around four weeks after a crash at the Grand Prix Olomouc. Vanthourenhout was contesting the Czech event at the weekend while his main rivals raced at Belgium's GP Neerpelt, in the hope of bagging a load of UCI points. Instead the rider has broken two bones in his hand.

"There were two breaks," he told Sport.be. "On the top of my hand I broke a bone in my wrist. I also broke my scaphoid. That will be put in plaster on Wednesday night."

While Vanthourenhout will be sidelined from competition for four weeks, the rider is hoping to keep up his condition. He expects to be spending lots of time on the rollers while his injury heals.

"I would normally be out of competition for four weeks," he said. "Cyclo-cross is out of the question but ride on the rollers and do some road work. Hopefully I can maintain my condition. My preparation was perfect, recording my best test result ever. Now I have to turn my whole program on its head and re-evaluate my goals."

Vanthourenhout regrets the accident's timing, as he had been aiming at a strong opening to his 2008/2009 campaign. "It's a shame because October is traditionally a good month for me," he said. "Kalmthout, Ruddervoorde...races where I always go well, but that I now have to miss. The Superprestige in Ruddervoorde was one of my goals."