Dan Martin (Garmin-Sharp) has undergone successful surgery in Dublin, after breaking his collarbone on the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia, according to Irish cycling website Stickybottle.com.
Cyclingnews spoke to Garmin-Sharp, who confirmed that Martin had surgery on Sunday. They also said that no decision had been made on whether Martin would ride the Tour de France in July, despite previous suspicions. "There have been no decisions on his schedule at all. The top priority is his recovery," team spokesperson Marya Pongrace told Cyclingnews. "This is his first broken bone and his first surgery and he (and we) needs to take it day by and focus solely on his recovery. Absolutely no decisions about race schedule have been made."
Martin hit the tarmac at the end of the Newtownards Road in Belfast, after he lost control of his bike as he road over a wet manhole cover. He stayed sat in the road for a long time clutching his shoulder and was later diagnosed with a ‘displaced fracture of the right collarbone.’
With the race starting in Northern Ireland and moving down into the Republic of Ireland, Martin was a crowd favourite and a potential contender for the top ten once the race reached Italy. He will now have to change his race calendar and decide with the Garmin-Sharp team if he will be able to return to racing in time to be competitive at the Tour de France. An alternative objective could be the Vuelta a Espana that begins in late August.
After recovering from his operation Martin is likely to soon begin training on the rollers but the risk of further injury in the case of a crash on open roads could delay his return to full training and racing.
The crash marked a painful start for the Garmin-Sharp team at the Giro d'Italia. The team is now two men down and over three minutes behind in the overall classification. The riders left in the race left Ireland for Italy with Tyler Farrar their top rider in the classification, 3:26 behind maglia rosa Michael Matthews.
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2012 Giro winner Ryder Hesjedal is expected pick up he role as team leader, while Farrar will target the sprint finishes.
