According to the French team, Coquard was taken to hospital, with the team suggesting his injuries ‘seem relatively serious’. The team later confirmed that he had fractured his scapula - a more complicated injury than a collarbone fracture.
Coquard had been training on time trial bikes with teammates Sylvain Chavanel and Arthur Pichot at the time of the accident. In a statement on their website, Direct Energie said that the crash had been a result of bad weather combined with the wind caused by a passing truck. The 23-year-old was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a broken scapula.
"Bryan remains very optimistic and keeps his usual smile. We wish him already a speedy recovery," the team wrote.
Coquard is likely to need between six and eight weeks to make a full recovery and so will miss Paris-Nice and other early-season races. The Frenchman had been enjoying a successful start of the season, winning two stages at the recent Etoile de Bessèges stage race in the South of France and finishing fourth in the Clásica de Almería on Sunday.
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