It was a hard day for T-Mobile and Gerolsteiner. Sven Montgomery of the blue-clad outfit and Eddy Mazzoleni (T-Mobile) crashed on stage three of the Tour de Romandie with 90 kilometres to go to the finish. While the Italian could continue the race, Montgomery was taken to hospital, where a fracture of the collarbone was diagnosed.
The Swiss rider will therefore not only miss out on the end of Romandie, but also on the Giro d'Italia, for which he had been nominated by his team management. Still, Montgomery was optimistic. "Fortunately, it's a clean break," he said. "I think I will be able to ride again in the Tour de Suisse in June."
T-Mobile's Thomas Ziegler was luckier. He was involved in a crash about 500 meters before the finish line in Friday's stage of the Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt. Ziegler managed to cross the finish line under his own power, but was promptly taken to hospital, where x-rays showed that nothing had been broken. He had severe bruises on his left shoulder and hip and many scrape wounds.
The team hopes that Ziegler will be able to ride again Saturday and defend his third place in GC. T-Mobile has already lost one rider in the race: Bram Schmitz's cold was bad enough to force him not only out of the Rundfahrt but also out of Monday's Rund um den Henninger Turm, where he will be replaced by Jörg Ludewig.
