Riccardo Zoidl has had an unfortunate end to his 2015 season (and start to the next), having broken his left collarbone in four places during the first ride at a Trek Factory Racing team training camp in Spain.
According to a team press release Wednesday, Zoidl's wheel slipped out from under him while riding slowly through a wet roundabout. The crash happened 30 minutes into the team's first ride of the 10-day camp.
"We knew that this roundabout was slippery as 4-5 guys crashed in the group ahead of us and so we took it easy," he said. "I was sliding a little bit, but I could handle it and thought I was safe and then my teammate next to me crashed and went directly into my front wheel and I flipped over. We were not going fast, maybe 10-15km/h, but it was really, really slippery. I think a total of 10 of us crashed there.
"I was super disappointed in the first five minutes after it happened, but now I have come to terms with it. This is the second time for me and I was really nervous the first time I broke my collarbone, but now I know what to expect with the rehab. It's a shame that it was a short training camp for me, but everything in life has a reason."
Zoidl, who is currently at the team hotel in Alfaz del Pi in Spain, is expected to return home to Austria Thursday where he will undergo surgery to repair the breaks by Friday.
"Our team doctor told me we can fix it with a pin and this way I can get back to training faster," explained Zoidl from the team hotel in Alfaz del Pi, Spain. "I am fairly confident I can return to training and be back on the bike in one week, and then you don't lose so much (fitness)."
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