Tour Down Under crash update: Craddock breaks sternum, Manzin, Porte and others down

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Lawson Craddock in serious pain after a heavy fall(Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Lawson Craddock (Giant-Alpecin) has been left with a fractured sternum, rib and wrist after he came down heavily on stage four of the Tour Down Under. Craddock was sent into a ditch after 25 kilometres of racing when he punctured on a wide stretch of road.

Some, like Astana’s Lars Boom and Team Sky’s Richie Porte, came through relatively unscathed and were able to walk across the finish line. Kenny Dehaes (Lotto-Soudal) was one of those injured in the crash after he caught his fingers in the spokes of his own wheel, he also suffered some abrasions to the back of his leg. The Belgian rider received 25 stitches in three of his fingers and Lotto-Soudal later confirmed that Dehaes had to abandon the race as a result of his injuries.

There was bad news for FDJ.fr riders Lorrenzo Manzin and Olivier Le Gac who, although they avoided any broken bones, were forced to abandon the race. The Katusha pair Alexey Tsatevich and Vladimir Isaychev were both caught up with the crash. Isaychev came through with not much more than some scrapes and bruises while Tsatevich could be seen nursing his shoulder, which had clearly been impacted in the fall.

Drapac’s Travis Meyer was one of those most affected by the crash. The Australian was sent to hospital for x-rays after the stage, which showed that he fractured his hand in the incident. “I thought I was getting through and then I realized I wasn’t and all I saw was barriers. I thought to myself, ‘I am going to go down hard’. It could have been a lot worse,” Meyer said in a team press release.