– It’s the worst possible start in a Tour de France, commented TV 2 cycling expert Thor Hushovd when he saw pictures of a bruised Torsten Trin.
With just over 80 kilometers left of the first stage, the Uno-X rider stepped onto the tarmac and badly injured himself.
After the stage, investigations were carried out to find out the damage to the tree.
Uno-X physician Rory Nolan confirmed shortly thereafter in a press release that the strong climber had suffered a small fracture in his elbow.
– There’s not much you can do about it. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow and how you feel tonight, and then we’ll update the status after that. I’m not very motivated to go home, so to speak, Træen tells TV 2.
Later on Saturday, Doctor Nolan will give a new update: All legs are in place, and with the follow-up that Træen is receiving, both legs are in good conditions to heal quickly.
– The next few days will be uncomfortable for Torsten, but if we can get through it and he’s confident on the bike, I’m sure he’ll improve with time in the race, says Nolan.
The tree naturally falls away after the start of the race was completely different from what he had imagined.
– It’s typical. First pass and first break. We can’t do anything about it right now, so we’ll see how we manage it in the next few days, says the Uno-X rider.
Difficult start: Torstein Træen has broken his elbow and it is uncertain if he can continue the race. Photo: Elias Engevik/TV 2
Afraid it will break
Mads Kaggestad, TV 2’s cycling expert, didn’t like what he saw in the TV pictures of Træen. After being told he had a broken elbow, he worried about the Norwegian climbing hope.
It starts with a big handicap. The Tour de France is painful enough. Already from the second stage he will have to suffer a fracture that can cause a lot of pain, which costs a lot of mental energy and makes you lose focus on cycling. You also become anxious about falling and making it worse. It makes you constantly think about whether it’s a good idea to do it here and you want to think about breaking it, says Kagstad.
And he notes that if Træen can keep going, the threshold for streak breaking will be much lower in the coming days.
– The question is also whether it is healthy from a health point of view to continue and risk making mistakes. Then it can become a problem later, as he has to sit down and compensate by sitting hunched over on the bike. Here, there are several questions to be asked. Obviously it could work, but he says it’s too bad for his ability to perform.
Before the start: Torstein Træen was optimistic when he was interviewed by TV 2 before the start. Photo: Frederick Warfgell
– Very unlucky
Before confirming the breach, Hushovd was clear about what Træen should do now.
The most important thing for Torstein is not to break down mentally. He has to reset himself and tell himself he has to get over the pain. But I myself know how hard it is when you fall and hurt. You enter a negative spiral, says Hushovd.
Kaggestad believes it will now be difficult for Træen to achieve the results he had hoped for this summer.
The race is hard enough. It’s always a matter of whether he can afford to do it here and if doing so is a good idea. It would cost so much energy that it would drain his strength. The expert says there are riders who have gone through injuries and achieved incredible things, but they are far from ideal.
“Infuriatingly humble internet trailblazer. Twitter buff. Beer nerd. Bacon scholar. Coffee practitioner.”
