Roux fractures two vertebrae

Anthony Roux suffered a serious injury last Sunday when he crashed at the Boulzicourt cyclo-cross race in the French Ardennes region. The FDJ rider was rushed to Charleville-Mézières hospital, where he was diagnosed with two fractured vertebrae. The Frenchman was then transferred to a bigger hospital in Reims, where he is currently being treated.

According to L'Equipe, Roux should be out of competition for six months following an operation due today. Fortunately, there seems to be no risk of paralysis as his team manager Marc Madiot caught up with the 24-year-old on Monday. "I had him on the phone and asked him if he could feel his feet. He replied that he did. I couldn't talk much longer to him, though," Madiot said.

No more information on the vertebrae fractures was made available. In his career, Roux most notably took a stage in the 2009 Vuelta a Espana and overall victories in French stage races Circuit de la Sarthe and Circuit de Lorraine. Most recently, he was part of Laurent Jalabert's line-up for the World Championships in Copenhagen.