Thomas Voeckler put in an impressive performance at Dwars Door Vlaanderen but was caught on the line(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) at the start(Image credit: AFP)
Thomas Voeckler's green collarbone plate(Image credit: Thomas Voeckler)
Thomas Voeckler has revealed he underwent an operation to remove a metal plate from his collarbone, publishing a photo of what he describes as the 'hardware' on his Facebook page. The plate was a green colour, the same as Voeckler's Europcar team.
The French rider revealed the news of the minor operation during the weekend. He confirmed he would soon be back in training before heading to Australia on January 12 for the Santos Tour Down Under.
"Last Thursday I had the collar bone plate removed that as fitted after my crash in the Amstel Gold Race," he wrote.
"It was a simple operation but under general anesthetic. I'd like to share the photo of the 'hardware' that was removed!"
"After a short rest this weekend, I expect to get in a good week of training before leaving for Australia on January 12. I hope to find better training conditions out there because lately, because of the rain and wind, it hasn't been easy to ride!"
Voeckler will lead the seven-rider Europcar team at the Santos Down Under. Also in the line-up are Perrig Quemeneur, Kévin Reza, Jérome Cousin, Angélo Tulik, Yukiya Arashiro and Bjorn Thurau.
It is the first time that Europcar competes in the Santos Tour Down Under after securing a WorldTour licence for the 2014 season. Voeckler rode in Australia early in his career but will begin his season early in the Australian summer before targeting Paris-Nice, Milan-San Remo and the Amstel Gold Race in the first part of the 2014 season.
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Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
