GARMIN-Sharp have not ruled out Dan Martin's chances of competing in the Tour de France in July following his crash in the opening team trial stage of the Giro d’Italia in Belfast.
The Birmingham-Irish cyclist broke his collarbone when he went down after riding over a manhole cover in wet conditions, taking out three of his team-mates in the process.
The 27-year-old was unable to continue the stage and much to the disappointment of the home fans and Martin himself, his Giro ride ended prematurely.
In a statement, his team Garmin-Sharp said:
Dan had surgery on Monday and is currently recovering. There have been no decisions on his schedule at all. The top priority is his recovery.
This is his first broken bone and his first surgery and he (and we) needs to take it day by and focus solely on his recovery. Absolutely no decisions about race schedule have been made.
Last month in an interview with the Irish Post, Martin revealed that his decision to compete in the Tour de France would depend on his performance in the Giro, which he explained was his main focus this season.
“I think I’ll wait and see how I’ll come out of the Giro, you don’t know how the race is going to go,” he said.
“If I race it how I want to race it, in front the whole three weeks and hopefully aiming towards a podium it’s going to be hard to do the Tour de France.”
“It’s hard with three weeks of full on racing with recovery time, to be able to perform to your full potential in July,” he continued.
“But, it’s still open and anything can happen. Maybe I’ll get sick in the first week and I’ll pull out, then the Tour de France is definitely on the cards. Hopefully that won’t happen, and if all things go to plan I might not be in France in July! That’s the sacrifice you pay for aiming for the Giro.”
