Michael Valgren out of Tour de France after fractured pelvis at Route d'Occitanie
EF Education-EasyPost rider also dislocates hip and has a possible knee injury
Michael Valgren crashed in the final stage of the Route d'Occitanie on Sunday, sustaining injuries that mean the Danish rider will miss a homes Tour de France start in Copenhagen.
EF Education-EasyPost initially announced that Valgren had been taken to hospital to assess his injuries, then late on Sunday confirmed the extent of the damage.
“Michael Valgren suffered a dislocated hip, pelvis fracture, and possible knee injury at the Route d'Occitanie today,” said the team on Twitter. “He will be transferred to Monaco and undergo surgery in the coming week.
“Join us in wishing Michael a speedy recovery.”
Even the most speedy recovery, however, isn’t going to be enough to see him ready to make the Grand Depart of the Tour de France in just a week-and-a-half.
It will be the first time since 2014 the 30-year-old has missed the Tour de France and in the year it starts in his home nation. Even before the medical update was released, TV 2 Sport reported that EF Education EasyPost sports director Matti Breschel had confirmed a Tour de France start would not be possible.
Earlier in the Route d’Occitanie, Valgren delivered a late attack in the 33km heatwave shortened stage 2, holding on for second place in the uphill finish behind Roger Adria (Kern Pharma). It was Valgren’s first podium of the season, but comes after a strong run of results in 2021.
He took his first victory since 2018 – the year he won Amstel Gold and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad – at the Giro della Toscana in September of 2021, then quickly followed that with victory at Coppa Sabatini, after which he added another two years to his EF-Education contract. Valgren then went on to finish third at the Road World Championships in Flanders.
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Michael Valgren suffered a dislocated hip, pelvis fracture, and possible knee injury at the Route d'Occitanie today. He will be transferred to Monaco and undergo surgery in the coming week.Join us in wishing Michael a speedy recovery. 💕June 19, 2022
Simone is a degree-qualified journalist that has accumulated decades of wide-ranging experience while working across a variety of leading media organisations. She joined Cyclingnews as a Production Editor at the start of the 2021 season and has now moved into the role of Australia Editor. Previously she worked as a freelance writer, Australian Editor at Ella CyclingTips and as a correspondent for Reuters and Bloomberg. Cycling was initially purely a leisure pursuit for Simone, who started out as a business journalist, but in 2015 her career focus also shifted to the sport.