Colombian EF rider to undergo surgery after breaking wrist and thumb
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Daniel Martínez (EF Education First) lead a Colombian one-two while compatriot Egan Bernal (Team Sky) took the race lead(Image credit: Getty Images)
Daniel Martinez (EF Education First)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Dani Martinez and Rigoberto Uran line up for EF Education First at the Tour Colombia 2.1(Image credit: Getty Images)
Daniel Martínez (EF Education First) takes the win atop the Col de Turini(Image credit: Getty Images)
Best young rider Dani Martinez (EF Education First)(Image credit: Getty Images)
Daniel Martínez's appearance at the Tour de France is in major doubt after the EF Education First rider crashed in training this week, suffering injuries to his wrist and thumb that will require surgery.
Martínez was training in his home region of Antioquia in Colombia on Monday when he fractured the scaphoid bone in his right arm and the thumb on his left hand.
He will undergo surgery in Colombia on Wednesday but fears he won't be able to ride the Tour de France, where he was set to support compatriot Rigoberto Urán. The Tour begins in Brussels, Belgium, on July 6.
"I had a crash and they're operating on me on Wednesday. I think the Tour will be difficult for me," Martínez told Colombian newspaper El Tiempo.
"After the operation comes the recovery, and I'm not sure there's enough time."
Martínez, 23, is one of the most promising of the wave of young Colombians in the WorldTour. He moved to the WorldTour with EF last year and made his debut at the Tour, finishing 36th overall and 5th in the youth classification after Urán abandoned in the Alps.
This year he became Colombian time trial champion before finishing third at the Tour Colombia. Back in Europe, he won a stage at Paris-Nice and finished second in the opening time trial at the Tour of the Basque Country. His last race was the Tour de Romandie in early May and he has since been building his form towards the Tour.
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He was set to ride the Tour d'Occitanie later this month but now faces a race against time to make the start line of the Tour de France. If he can't ride, he will likely turn his focus to the Vuelta a España later in the year.
