Nuyens crashes out of Eneco lead

Belgian Nick Nuyens (Cofidis) has crashed out of the Eneco Tour while leading the general classification. The crash occurred while the peloton was descending the Cauberg climb. Nuyens was taken to a hospital in Herentals for treatment where it was found that while he sustained no fractures he has a crack in the radius of his right elbow. "We were riding in an echelon, someone swerved out causing everyone behind to do the same and brake. Through the chain reaction that followed I crashed into the bike of the guy in front of me and hit the ground hard," explained Nuyens to HLN.be.

"I tried to continue but it wasn't happening, especially while climbing," he said. "It’s never easy to decide to give up, especially while leading the race but I had no other choice. I had a lot of pain in my right arm and my back is all ‘out of position’ I realised quickly that it was over. I am extremely disappointed. Today I should have been able to defend the leader’s jersey, and tomorrow I would have been able to finish with a high GC place. It is especially disappointing for my team-mates who have worked so hard for this week."

Nuyens right arm was placed in a plaster from his shoulder to his wrist. Although Nuyens will miss the GP Plouay this weekend he's hopefully of returning to the trainer on Thursday and wants to make a full return as quickly as possible. "But it could also be that the pain stays and that my season is over," confessed a dejected Nuyens.

Nuyens’ retirement from the race leaves Thomas Dekker (Rabobank) as overall leader. It's the second consecutive year that a crash has caused the race leader to relinquish the leader's jersey to second overall after George Hincapie lost the race on the final stage last year after crashing in the final sprint.