UAE Team confirms multiple fractures for Bjerg after kangaroo crash
UAE Team Emirates-XRG successfully defended its Santos Tour Down Under title this weekend, Jay Vine ascending to the top step a year after teammate Jhonatan Narváez. However, it was a rollercoaster of a race for the top WorldTeam that saw only three finishers out of seven, two of four DNFs sustaining multiple fractures in heavy crashes.
The last to fall was Mikkel Bjerg who took the biggest hit in a bizarre incident that dominated headlines on Sunday: the Dane and a number of others, including stage 2 winner and race leader Jay Vine, were sent skittling across the road when a kangaroo leapt into their midst. While Vine got up and continued – on teammate Ivo Oliveira's bike – Bjerg stayed down, his body language portraying a likely broken collarbone.
The team confirmed the day after his crash that Bjerg had sustained fractures to the acromioclavicular joint (where collarbone meets scapula) and hand, which will put a dent in his plans for spring. UAE paid a hefty price for Tour Down Under victory, with Bjerg, Narváez and Vegard Stake Laengen (suspected rib injury) all out of action for at least a few weeks.
Matt de Neef
