The excitement and thrill of racing on home Dutch roads, and so close to our Aqua-Step Keep Challenging Center in Sittard, unfortunately didn’t bring our Men’s program any luck on Sunday afternoon at Amstel Gold Race; with Oscar Onley and Warren Barguil both not finishing the race. Unfortunately, both of the team’s finishers and riders that the team had high hopes for in the coming races, will take no further part in the Ardennes week due to their injuries.
Oscar Onley:
Oscar, who had previously rode strongly at Itzulia Basque Country after a period at altitude, was ready to take on Ardennes Week in fighting spirits both yesterday and at Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday. Unfortunately, during Sunday’s racing Oscar was involved in a crash and had to abandon the race with a suspected broken collarbone. Further checks at hospital confirmed what was indeed suspected, with the young Scot suffering a break for the second time this season and third in roughly a year. This was also only Oscar’s second race back after his last collarbone fracture, so it’s a real disappointment for the team’s young talent.
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL physician Camiel Aldershof expressed: “Unfortunately the x-ray and scans at hospital confirmed what we had suspected, and Oscar suffered a collarbone break in his fall during Amstel Gold Race. We will do some further checks in the next days, but he will most likely undergo surgery, which will then be followed by him taking the time needed to rest and recover, and to fully heal. Obviously this is a big disappointment for Oscar but we are confident we can get him back up and in action after a good recovery period.”
Warren Barguil:
Coming out of the same team high altitude camp as Oscar, Warren was also building for the Ardennes this week, and was set to be in the mix with his good form. An injury in the week during the run-up to Amstel saw Warren suffer a broken rib – but after assessments and checks by the team, Warren was given the all clear and was motivated to take to the start this Sunday, with precautions, to see where he could end up in the race. After a small crash and the action intensifying, Warren ultimately had to step off the bike.
Aldershof continued: “We monitored Warren closely in the run up to the race and medically he was okay to start, so we focused on pain management. Unfortunately as the pace intensified, it was clear that he should stop the race without any further risk as we had discussed upfront. We will continue to check on his progress in the upcoming weeks but expect a full recovery.”