Gerdemann with "two small fractures" and ligament damage

By Susan Westemeyer

Linus Gerdemann has been diagnosed with two small fractures to his left leg, damage to the cruciate ligaments of the left knee and various wounds and contusion, Team High Road has reported. A "minor surgical treatment will be performed in the next few days, and a break from training of one to two months is expected."

"I will do my very best to be back on the bike as soon as possible and I will fight to become part of the 2008 Tour de France," the 25 year-old said. However, he told Radsport-News.com that he is at the moment "very depressed. I had cut back on my training intensity this winter, as compared to last year. That was the right thing to have done, because I was on the verge of winning my first stage race. Now I am laying here in bed. But I am a fighter."