David Kopp (Gerolsteiner) (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
On Saturday afternoon, David Kopp lay flat on the pavement in Milano-Sanremo, bleeding heavily from the face, surrounded by worried Gerolsteiner teammates and an anxious public which waited to see whether he could move his arms and legs.
On Wednesday afternoon, Kopp joined the leading group in Dwars door Vlaanderen with eight kilometres to go and powered his way to a fifth place in the final sprint.
"Under the circumstances, that's a really super result, when you consider that David was riding with a broken nose," said a pleased Director Sportif Christian Henn.
"He has obviously gotten over the crash," Henn said. "That gives us hope for the upcoming races in Flanders. After something like that, there's always a little angst the first time back. It was important for him to see that he could do it." And, he concluded, "We can all be happy with this result."
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Sue George is an editor at Cyclingnews. She coordinates all of the site's mountain bike race coverage and assists with the road, 'cross and track coverage.
