The Luxembourg rider was advised by doctors not to continue the race after a heavy fall. Stage two was shrouded in a heavy fog, making it difficult for riders to negotiate their way down the climbs. Schleck crashed on the descent of the Grimselpass, the final climb on stage two. He was one of several riders to go down in the tumble, including his brother Andy and teammate Gregory Rast.
“On the Grimsel there was a lot of fog and I said to Andy and Fränk they should go in the front for the descent… Andy was hit from behind because everyone had a hard time to control their bikes, and you could not see more then 10 meters,” Rast told the team’s website.
“I came from the back and I could not stop in time and rode full gas into a Europcar guy – sorry for that but I could do nothing. The problem was that you could not see anything and the wet roads made it more dangerous; it was one of the worst descents that I ever did. It was so scary.”
Schleck managed to finish the stage more than 16 minutes back on the winner Cameron Meyer (Orica-GreenEdge). He was immediately taken to hospital where it was confirmed that he had not broken any bones, but that he was suffering with concussion. He is the second Trek rider to abandon the Tour de Suisse, after an illness forced Stijn Devolder to call it quits on day one.
Schleck was using the Swiss race as a warm up to the Tour de France, where he will shoulder the general classification hopes for the team.
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