Dunkerque to start without Ladagnous

The 4 Jours de Dunkerque will kick off on May 6 without last year's champion, Mathieu Ladagnous (Française des Jeux). The Frenchman was injured on Thursday while mountain biking, according to La Voix du Nord.

Ladagnous will have surgery in the near future on his injured ankle, and will be out of competition for approximately six weeks. The 23-year-old won the 2007 edition of the 4 Jours de Dunkerque with a gutsy battle for intermediate time bonuses with Belgian Dominique Cornu on the race's final stage.