Vansummeren to ride Paris-Roubaix
Former champion recovered from Flanders crash
The 2011 Paris-Roubaix winner Johan Vansummeren is planning to ride the Hell of the North again on Sunday, his wife Jasmien Vangrieken stated on Twitter today. Garmin-Sharp later confirmed the news to Cyclingnews.
The 33-year-old Belgian suffered a horrific crash in the Tour of Flanders last weekend, colliding with a female spectator. De Standaard reports the 65-year-old woman has undergone two surgeries and is still in critical, but stable, condition with head trauma.
Vansummeren was also briefly hospitalized after the incident, but returned to his team bus by the finish of the race on Sunday. He was reeling from the incident, telling reporters, "The fact that this lady got hurt bothers me much more than the crash. Crashes are part of cycling but it’s really sad for the family."
In 2011, Vansummeren was intended to be a foil in Garmin's Paris-Roubaix tactics, working for Thor Hushovd, but instead found himself in the winning move. He attacked into the tailwind with 15km to go, and not even Fabian Cancellara was strong enough to chase him down before the velodrome. It was the biggest victory of his career.
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