Tour de France 2020 - Wout Poels races on despite fractured rib and bruised lung

ByEurosport

Updated 30/08/2020 at 21:41 GMT

Wout Poels confirms rib fracture and bruised lung after Stage 1 at the Tour de France.

Wout Poels, Tour de France 2020, Stage 1

Image credit: Getty Images

Wout Poels (Bahrain-McLaren) confirmed he will ride on at the Tour de France despite fracturing a rib and bruising a lung on Saturday’s opening stage of the Tour de France.

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The Dutchman was among a flurry of riders to hit the deck during a wet and crash-strewn run around Nice.

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"Pretty hectic start to Le Tour yesterday," Poels wrote on Instagram prior to Sunday's second stage.

"Managed to dodge the crashes until 2.9km. Pretty sore but hope to come back fighting. Fracture to the rib and few bruises to the lung so let’s see how we get on today."

However, Poel's teammate Rafael Valls is out with a broken femur, while Lotto Soudal are down to six riders after Philippe Gilbert broke his knee cap and John Degenkolb finished outside the time limit.

The chaos on Stage 1 prompted a wide debate with Robert Gesink blaming the UCI, Luke Rowe shaming Astana for attacking on a wet descent and Bradley Wiggins suggesting some riders may be better off retiring.