Girmay and Van der Hoorn suffered a concussion, but no fractures were detected during additional examinations, explained the Belgian formation. “For both, it is recommended to observe rest in the coming days to avoid the long-term effects of a concussion”, explained Ortwin Schäfer, the team’s chief doctor. “Their wounds also take time to heal. In Van der Hoorn’s case it’s a cut in the brow bone and for Biniam Girmay it’s abrasions all over his body. and on the face.” De Gendt was able to leave the hospital on Monday following an elbow operation. “He will wear a cast for ten days and can then resume training on a home trainer,” said the doctor.
“The consequences of the falls that occurred on Sunday are exceptionally heavy for our team: three of our riders had to be taken to hospital and will miss Paris-Roubaix”, regretted Aike Visbeek, performance manager. These packages are in addition to those of Adrien Petit (fracture of a phalanx) and Hugo Page (mononucleosis). This means that Intermarché-Circus-Gobert will have to rely on young talents, like Laurenz Rex and Dries De Pooter who completed their first Tour of Flanders last weekend. “They will have the opportunity to acquire valuable experience alongside Mike Teunissen and Baptiste Planckaert. I feel they are ready to take up this great challenge”, underlined Visbeek. “To achieve a result, we will have to exploit all our tactical options and certainly adopt an attacking attitude.”
