Pinot and Martin speak out against Nadal's injections

LA CHAPELLESAINTAUBIN FRANCE APRIL 08 Thibaut Pinot of France and Team Groupama FDJ crosses the finish line during the 68th Circuit Cycliste Sarthe Pays de la Loire 2022 Stage 4 a 1364km stage shortened due to bad weather conditions from La ChapelleSaintAubin to La ChapelleSaintAubin CircuitSarthe on April 08 2022 in La ChapelleSaintAubin France Photo by Dario BelingheriGetty Images
(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)

In the aftermath of Rafael Nadal’s historic victory at Roland Garros, two leading French riders have spoken out to express unease at the injections the Spanish tennis star used to treat his injured foot throughout the tournament.

Nadal claimed a record-extending 14th Roland Garros crown and 22nd Grand Slam title on Sunday, revealing afterwards that treatment for an ongoing foot problem had included injections to shut down certain nerves and put his foot, as he described it, "to sleep". 

Patrick Fletcher

Patrick is a freelance sports writer and editor. He’s an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish). Patrick worked full-time at Cyclingnews for eight years between 2015 and 2023, latterly as Deputy Editor.