Ben Hermans has suffered multiple fractures and contusions after crashing out of stage 3 of the Tour of Poland.
“Ben Hermans was transferred to the Szpital Wojewodzki hospital immediately after his crash where extensive scans were performed to determine the nature of his injuries”, Dr. Daniele Zaccaria explained.
“X-Rays revealed a fractured right wrist, a fractured left hallux (big toe) and a fracture on his sternum. He also has three broken teeth and many contusions, including facial contusions, sustained in the crash. Fortunately, CT and abdominal scans revealed no broken vertebrae or internal bleeding so Ben is quite lucky to escape with the injuries he has. Ben did lose consciousness for a few moments as he crashed and although he regained consciousness soon after, we will continue to monitor his concussion which is why he remains under observation,”
“As of today, it looks like Ben will be off the bike for at least four to six weeks however, once he is back in Belgium, we will monitor his recovery and adjust this prognosis accordingly. Ben will be transferred to a larger hospital in Krakow or home to Belgium as soon as he is fit to do so. At this stage, no surgery is required.”
“I don’t really remember anything directly after the crash but what I think happened was we were going down the descent of the first climb at high speeds. We went into a wide corner and riders started to panic and brake really hard. I don’t think the corner was dangerous, it was doable, but I was close to the rider in front of me and I had to veer to the right and so I went out of the corner and hit the rail,” Hermans explained.
“I had a couple of hours’ sleep last night and I’m in quite a lot of pain. My broken teeth are painful as is my fractured wrist. I have muscular pain in my other arm so right now I can’t really move my arms. My fractured sternum also makes it painful to try and move. It’s definitely disappointing to be out like this.”
