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Belgian rider with deep cut to left knee, off the bike 8 days
Astana Pro Team rider Kevin Seeldraeyers has abandoned Paris-Nice after a crash late in stage one left the Belgian rider with cuts and bruises on his legs that required stitches at a local hospital.
"I crashed hard and got a cut below my left knee that is very deep and needs stitches. I can move the knee and bend it, but if I move and bend it a lot the stitches can come out, and then I have to go back to the doctor. I'm off the bike for eight days until it can heal enough to pedal," Seeldraeyers said.
Astana Pro Team Director Sportif Dmitriy Fofonov said the loss of Seeldraeyers was serious for the athlete himself, and serious for the team in the mountains.
"The situation is not rosy. Kevin got a very deep wound in the flexible part of his left knee, and any more bending would cause the stitches to bend to the point of bursting. Race doctors don't recommend that he continue, and our team physician Dr. Raquel Ortolano agrees. He comes off the bike for at least eight days, but he remains motivated and intends on a quick return to racing. It's a serious loss for the team and for Fuglsang in the mountains," Fofonov said.
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