RadioShack rider crashes out of Tour de France

CAP FREHEL, France (AP)—RadioShack rider Janez Brajkovic pulled out of the Tour de France on Wednesday with a broken collarbone after getting caught up in one of the crashes which marred the fifth stage and involved several contenders.

After falling close to the halfway mark of the stage, Brajkovic quickly received treatment for minor cuts and scrapes to his face, and was then evacuated to a hospital in the town of Guingamp. He was diagnosed with a broken collarbone and a mild concussion, but a head scan showed no serious injuries.
The Slovenian, who won the Criterium du Dauphine race last year, was one of the four RadioShack leaders with Levi Leipheimer, Christopher Horner and Andreas Kloeden.
“It’s a bad day for us,” Bruyneel said. “But we still have three leaders. Regarding Brajkovic, I think it’s just a small fracture, let’s wait and see if he can recover in time for the (Spanish) Vuelta.”
Bruyneel said Brajkovic couldn’t remember the crash afterward.
“He couldn’t tell us what happened, where he was and on which race,” Bruyneel said.
Leipheimer was also involved in a crash after other riders bumped into him but returned to the race, while another key cyclist from the American outfit, Yaroslav Popovych, fell twice.
“I don’t know if Popovych will be OK, he was badly damaged and we need to asses the situation regarding his wrist,” Radioshack manager Johan Bruyneel said.
Defending champion Alberto Contador fell after 72 kilometers, shortly after Brajkovic, when his chain came off. He was able to return to the race after getting a new bike.
Contador, who lost more than one minute during the first stage after being slowed down by a crash, quickly returned to the front of the pack with the help of his Saxo Bank teammates.
Contador scraped his right shoulder, elbow, and knee.
“It was a very tense day, with a lot of crashes,” Contador said. “Yes, it’ll be a bad night, of course, but you have to think about tomorrow.”
Among other contenders who crashed during the windy 164.5-kilometer stage between Carhaix and Cap Frehel were Sky rider Bradley Wiggins, Rabobank leader Robert Gesink of the Netherlands and Quick Step’s Tom Boonen of Belgium.
Boonen, a former world champion, crashed at the 102-kilometer mark and remained on the ground for several minutes as the race medical staff treated him, before getting back on his bike. He finished the stage more than 13 minutes behind stage winner Mark Cavendish.
Gesink injured his left knee and was seen discussing the situation with the race doctor.
The most spectacular crash involved Contador’s teammate Nicki Sorensen, who went down after he hit a motorcycle which was trying to overtake him on the right side of the road.
“I was riding safely on the side of the road as a motorbike knocked me off the bike,” he said. “He was actually going so close that my bike was drawn after his motorbike for 200 meters and I landed heavily on the ground. Luckily, I’m OK and able to ride again tomorrow.”
The driver of the motorcycle was barred from continuing to cover the Tour.
Christophe Kern, the French time trial champion, also pulled out of the race. He had been suffering from knee pain for several days.