Astana’s Fuglsang, Sanchez out of Tour de France
«I already suffer from my back problems for a week. Examinations on the rest day showed that I would need more rest to recover. Together with the team, I decided to do two more stages to support Jakob Fuglsang. After him crashing out today, it didn’t make sense to me and the team to continue the Tour. I’m sad this race has to end like this, I wish my teammates all the best for the upcoming stages, I hope they’ll fight for a stage win,» said Luis Leon Sanchez.
«It’s a shame that the Tour ends like this for Jakob Fuglsang and Luis Leon Sanchez. They both worked very hard for the same goal, to get a good result in Paris. Jakob was getting better and better and we had big plans for the Alps, so the whole team was in shock after his crash today. Now it’s important to stick together and to focus on our next goal: Finishing in Paris with our heads up high,» said sports director Dmitriy Fofonov.
«I’m really disappointed about leaving the Tour de France this way, but there was too much pain to continue. Somebody crashed in front of me and there was no way to avoid it, so I crashed over my handlebar. My hand directly swallowed up and I could barely stand on my feet, I directly knew my Tour would finish here. I was very motivated for the final week and I was ready to battle for a higher position in the GC. That this has to be the way of missing out on this battle, is just very disappointing. Now all the focus will be on recovering, both physically as mentally, because the Tour was a big goal after my wins in Liége and the Dauphiné,» said Jakob Fuglsang.
Today’s stage 16 of the Tour
de France, with start and finish in Nimes, was won by Caleb Ewan after a bunch
sprint. Julian Alaphilippe still leads the race. Tomorrow the riders will go
from Pont du Gard to Gap, covering 200 kilometers