Etixx-QuickStep's Pieter Serry is recovering from a basal skull fracture sustained during a crash while mountain biking near his home in Belgium, according to a team press release.
Serry hit a hole while mountain biking and his face was the primary point of contact when he hit the ground. He was transported to Hospital of Tielt where doctors confirmed a basal skull fracture, one broken tooth and other superficial wounds. Doctors also confirmed that his injuries will not require surgery.
Serry will require cervical immobilization for at least six weeks.
"Today was just really bad luck," Serry said. "I was riding on the gravel, in a straight road. I lost control in a hole and I crashed. I'm really sad as it's another crash during my season, but the first one that is really the result of anything I did."
Serry has been involved in multiple serious crashes this year. He was in a crash at the Giro d'Italia in May, during stage 2, which took down multiple riders. It was reported that Serry hit his head and thought he had fractured his collarbone, and was forced to quit the Giro d'Italia. He also fractured his collarbone at the Volta a Catalunya in March.
He most recently crashed at the Grand Prix de Wallonie in September and was forced to abandon the race and go to the hospital of Cliniques Universitaires UCL Mont-Godinne, where he was diagnosed with a luxation of the left elbow.
"My previous crashes were in situations where I was not directly involved, I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Serry said.
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"I really need to recover as soon as I can, and I hope to turn the page on the 2015 season and start 2016 in a better way."
