Elijzen out with cut knee

Michiel Elijzen of Team Rabobank had hoped to end the Eneco Tour in the top ten, but instead he ended the race Sunday, carried off in an ambulance to have his knee stitched back together.

"Belgian roads frequently have a slit in the middle, and I had to jump over it when someone swerved," he said on the team's website, rabosport.nl. "Unfortunately someone else rode into my wheel and I fell hard. I wanted to stand up but had an enormous gap in my knee. You could see the bone and the opening was big enough to put a Euro coin in."

The 25 year-old had gone into the fourth stage in 14th place, only 14 seconds down. But instead of continuing with the race, he will be home recovering. His girlfriend picked him up and yesterday evening "I was already in my own bed. I would rather it had been under different circumstances."(SW)

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