Paris-Roubaix is known for its brutality, and yesterday’s edition once again lived up to its reputation. Julius van den Berg and Niklas Märkl both came out of the race with injuries, though in very different ways.
Van den Berg was involved in a heavy crash and was forced to abandon. Märkl, meanwhile, managed to stay upright, but ran into trouble at the Trouée d’Arenberg. While taking evasive action to avoid another rider, who suffered a puncture, Märkl struck a cobble at full force, leaving him with pain in his wrist.
Team Picnic PostNL doctor Camiel Aldershof said: “Julius broke his right collarbone. He will undergo surgery on April 16th at OCON, the Netherlands. If all goes according to plan, he will resume indoor riding within two to three weeks, and be back in competition around four weeks after the operation.”
“Niklas has a contusion of the wrist. He had a CT scan and a full evaluation, which fortunately showed no structural damage. He has been fitted with a brace and will be riding indoors for the next two to four days, after which we will see how his recovery is going and hopefully he can then return to being back outside on the bike.”
Niklas and Julius join the list of sidelined riders which include John Degenkolb, Matthew Dinham, Nils Eekhoff, Fabio Jakobsen and Tim Naberman. If his recovery goes well, we hope to see Alex Edmondson back racing by the end of the week.