Davide Formolo suffers suspected fractured wrist after training collision with wild boar

ByHarry Latham Coyle

Published 13/01/2022 at 15:25 GMT

Formolo befell some porcine misfortune, unable to avoid a collision with the young boar while making a fast descent from the hills above his home in Monaco. The UAE Team Emirates rider thanked his helmet manufacturer for saving him from a worse injury. The 2022 UCI World Tour begins on Emirati soil on 20 February.

Davide Formolo has suffered a suspected fractured wrist after an unfortunate collision with a young wild boar.

The Italian was descending at speed from the hills above his Monaco home when the porcine creature ran across the road in front of him.

Formolo was unable to avoid the pig, taking a tumble and landing on his right wrist.

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While doctors have cleared him of major breaks, the UAE Team Emirates rider fears that he may have fractured a bone in the incident.

"Fortune is blind, but misfortune sees us very well. I was descending fast, going to the right and a baby boar crossed the road running. I couldn't do anything about it, he hit his head on my front wheel," Formolo told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"I fell over. I was going downhill at 40 mph and was on the ground. We are still working a lot on my right wrist, we are still afraid that there is some fracture. It looks like nothing is broken, but there are a lot of bones in the hands and it takes ten days to show any fractures.

"We are still working a lot on the right wrist - we are afraid that there is a fracture.

"I did a week with the time trial bike, but I still can't stand up on the bike."

Formolo thus faces significant disruption to his 2022 season.

The UCI World Tour is due to begin at UAE Team Emirates' week-long home race on 20 February, before the first classic of the year at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on 26 February.

29-year-old Formolo enjoyed a successful 2021, finishing a credible 15th in the general classification at the Giro d'Italia before playing a key role as one of Tadej Pogacar's lieutenants in the high mountains during the Tour de France.

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Having sacrificed certain personal ambitions to help Pogacar to back-to-back French triumphs, Formolo has indicated that his 2022 schedule will give him greater opportunities as a leader - particularly at his home Grand Tour.

"I’ll play my own cards more next year," Formolo explained to CyclingNews. "I’ll do a bit less with Tadej and more for myself, so we’ll have different preparation.

"I shouldn’t be doing the Tour next year, I’ll be concentrating on the Giro.

"Next year, I want to be 100 per cent focused on the Giro."

Pogacar has confirmed that he is set to launch a double bid at Grand Tour glory, targeting both the Tour and the Vuelta a Espana.

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