Stefan Denifl fractures left clavicle at Tour of Austria

IAM Cycling’s bad luck continued on the roads of the Tour of Austria today.

After the unjustified disqualification of Matthias Brändle and his directeur sportif Eddy Seigneur, a crash caused Stefan Denifl to leave the race in an ambulance.

The sixth stage which ran 182 kilometers from Maria Taferl to Poysdorf was won in a sprint by Gérald Ciolek (MTN Qhubeka), but ended in a hospital in Hollabrunn for Denifl, who had been standing 11^th overall this morning.

The Austrian was thrown to the ground after hitting three other riders as they were exiting the feeding zone.  As IAM Cycling’s best-placed rider, it was a blow for Denifl to discover after an examination and x-ray that he had broken his left clavicle.  He will remain under observation for one night and then will return to his home in Innsbruck on Saturday.  A decision on the course of treatment to take and whether surgery will be necessary will be made after the medical staff at the University of Geneva Hospital (HUG) in charge of the IAM Cycling riders has a chance to examine Denifl’s injury.

If Stefan Denifl will be forced to return to square one in his training, teammate Kevyn Ista continues to improve his fledgling form.  Unable to race for nearly four months after his terrible crash at the first stage of the Tour of the Mediterranean in early February, where he broke his elbow into tiny pieces, the Belgian rider has been gradually finding his legs again.

“It takes time, but I am starting to turn the legs much more fluidly.  I have tried every day to get into a break and I also have been doing my job for the team, but fortune has not smiled on me yet.  For example, today I made it through to the finale, but on the climbs I am hardly there.  I still lack the arm strength to pull on the bars and my shoulder is causing me trouble.”