Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) has been ruled out of the Tour de Suisse after suffering a broken collarbone in a crash while training in the French Pyrenees on Monday.
The British rider, who was training on his time trial bike at the time, underwent surgery in Girona, Spain but will not race in Switzerland with the race set to start this Sunday.
“Tom is doing well and is already looking ahead and focussed on his rehabilitation. While this means he won’t be able to start at the Tour de Suisse this week as planned, he will get back to training as soon as possible and prepare for the rest of the season," said Ineos coach Kurt Bogaerts.
A photo of Pidcock’s bike from the crash was posted online, with the team quick to confirm its validity to Cyclingnews. The photo shows both the down tube and top tube Pidcock’s Pinarello snapped in half as a result of the crash, as well as damage to the front wheel and time trial bars.
Richard Carapaz is set to lead Ineos Grenadiers at the Tour de Suisse with Rohan Dennis also set to take part as the team builds up towards the Tour de France. It’s not yet clear who will replace Pidcock in the seven-rider team.
Pidcock has had an exceptional start to his WorldTour career with Ineos Grenadiers. He finished third in Kurrne-Brussel-Kurrne in late February and then backed that up with fifth in Strade Bianche and 15th in Milan-San Remo.
The 21-year-old neo-pro won De Brabantse Pijl but missed out on victory in Amstel Gold Race after Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) beat him in a photo finish. He's expected to make his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta a España later this year.
In the last few months the 21-year-old has switched to mountain biking with his aim of qualifying for an winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. He beat Mathieu van der Poel to win Nove Mesto World Cup.
"Honestly, I think I was born to do mountain biking, " he said at the time. "It sounds stupid, but it's what I have done since I was little and what I've enjoyed the most.
"So coming here and winning an elite World Cup in my first attempt on an equal playing field [after starting at the back of the field the week previously] is pretty insane."
