Richard Porte failed to sustain his winning momentum after suffering an unfortunate crash in Stage 9 of the 2018 Tour de France on Sunday.
The Australian rider, who is coming off a spectacular victory in the Tour de Suisse last month, tripped onto the grass lining the road. Porte was able to bring himself up but failed to remount his bike. It was later found out that Porte absorbed a fractured collarbone during the crash.
"Richie has been discharged by the hospital and the diagnosis is that he has a non-displaced right clavicle fracture. He will need to rest for a week before he considers starting to ride on the home trainer," team physician Max Testa explained.
Not The First Time For Porte
It was the second time for Porte to abandon the Tour de France after he pulled out last year due to a fall involving Dan Martin in Stage 9. The 33-year-old Porte also suffered mechanical problems and illnesses during the 2015 Giro d'Italia and the 2016 Tour.
Prior to the crash, Porte had everything going well as he found himself just a minute behind his teammate Greg Van Avermaet in the overall standings. Aside from Porte, other riders who crashed out of the competition were Stefan Kung, Jose Rojas of Movistar, Jens Keukeleire and Andre Greipel of Lotto-Soudal, and Guillaume Martin of Wanty-Groupe Gobert.
Degenkolb Bounces Back, Wins Stage
On the other hand, Germany's John Degenkolb outlasted his opponents to win the stage while the yellow-jersey holder Van Avermaet finished in second to widen his lead over Geraint Thomas to 43 seconds. It was also the first career win for Degenkolb in the Tour de France.
Before this competition, the Trek-Segafredo rider won the 2015 Paris-Roubaix single-day classic. Degenkolb also became the third rider to win a cobbled stage at the Tour and the Paris Roubaix after Roger de Vlaeminck and Bernard Hinault. The German rider displayed his pedigree by registering an average overall speed of 45.9 kph over the stage and 39.8 kph on cobbles.
It was indeed a sweet victory for Degenkolb, who suffered a serious training accident two years ago. In addition, Degenkolb also injured his knee after crashing out in this year's edition of the Paris-Roubaix.
Meanwhile, Quick-Step's Yves Lampaert came in third while the four-time champion Froome made it through the main pack despite a crash. With his impressive comeback, Froome moved into the eighth spot, which is just 1:42 behind Van Avermaet. Other riders who are set to give Froome a run for his money are Alejandro Valverde, Rafal Majka, and Jakob Fuglsang.
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