GERDEMANN REFOCUSES ON TOUR OF GERMANY

Photo: courtesy Wim Dingemanse

Photo: courtesy Wim Dingemanse

2007 Tour de France stage winner and yellow jersey holder Linus Gerdemann has been forced to refrain from racing for at least another month due to the injury sustained in a crash in the Time Trial of the Tirreno Adriatico Stage Race in March of this year, announces Team High Road management. The crash left Gerdemann with fractures on his left upper and lower leg and damage to the cruciate ligaments of his left knee. The extended recovery time  will mean that Gerdemann will not ride the Tour de France this year or take part in the Olympics.

“Linus has worked hard since the accident and has done everything he could to come back to racing as quickly as possible,” explains Team Director Rolf Aldag, “however this week he has been in Hamburg at the Berufsgenossenschaftlichen Unfallkrakenhaus for a checkup and unfortunately his knee has not sufficiently healed and racing could cause further damage".

Orthopaedic surgeon Helge Riepenhof explains, “Linus is still suffering under the consequences of the avulsion fracture of his front cruciate ligament and medial sideband and multiple bone bruises in his left femur and tibia. In order not to damage other structures in the knee or to produce permanent injury to health, it is at this time not possible for Linus to bring enough mechanical load on the injured knee to prepare for maximum performances like the Tour de France.”

" I had a good start to the season and I was on a good way to confirm my good result in the 2007 tour, where I won a stage and wore the yellow jersey for a day,” said a determined Gerdemann. “I'm sad not to do the Tour this year but I am working hard to make a successful comeback and aim to compete in the Tour of Germany."


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