https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gilberts-tour-de-france-over-due-to-broken-kneecap/
Lotto Soudal will be without both
Philippe Gilbert and
John Degenkolb when the
Tour de France resumes with stage 2 in Nice on Sunday. The team has confirmed overnight that Gilbert will not start the second stage after breaking his kneecap in a crash, while Degenkolb
missed the time cut for the opening stage on Saturday after a crash.
Gilbert was taken to hospital after managing to finishing stage 1, but Lotto Soudal confirmed early on Sunday morning that the Belgian veteran would be unable to continue due to his injuries.
"I was riding in around 20th position in the peloton when they crashed in front of me. I managed to escape that crash. I passed two or three fallen riders, and thought I was safe, but then they crashed again, and this time I couldn’t avoid them anymore," Gilbert said in a press release
...
"What a disappointment for us," added Gilbert, speaking on behalf of both him and Degenkolb. "We're both riders who love their sport and job. We always have respect for the races, our team and sponsors. We always fight and share the same values. I have big respect for what John did, finishing after a nasty crash, riding 65 kilometers alone and arriving two minutes outside the time limit.
"John gave everything, but got zero respect from the commissaires. With the rain and all the crashes, at least he deserved the respect to put him in the results, even if, afterwards, he would have been unable to continue. It's so unacceptable," Gilbert said.