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Fuglsang out of Romandie, Giro

Jakob Fuglsang was forced to pull out of the Tour de Romandie before the third stage due to a knee injury with the rider also out of the Giro d’Italia.

Fuglsang was unable to start the third stage due to an inflammation of the articular capsule and ligament of his left knee.

As a result of the Dane’s injuries his team Radioshack have promptly decided to take him off their roster for the Giro d'Italia.

“I am very disappointed,” Fuglsang said. “The Giro was my big objective for this year. Yesterday I had so much pain in the last 40K, I was just miserable.

“At that point I realised that it might be the end of my Giro dream. Moreover I was already running behind my schedule after the scaphoid bone fracture in the Tour of Catalunya.”

The pain in Fuglsang’s knee reportedly began two weeks ago at an altitude camp in Sierra Nevada, Spain, with ongoing discussions with the medical team leading him to attempt to ride at the Tour of Romandie.

“This is an absolute clear diagnosis,” added Team Doctor Andreas Gosele. “Jakob is a great young rider and we all have a responsibility for him.

“With a quick and intensive therapy, Jakob would possibly be able to start at the Giro, but with how much risk? A good result would be out of the question and if he would have to drop out after 10 stages, what would we have accomplished?

“From a medical point of view, it is impossible to guarantee that he will be fine. It's never good to take an injured rider to the start of a Grand Tour, and neither is it good to take out the leader of a team during such an important race.”

He added: “We don't want to jeopardise his season and his career. In normal conditions, he would need at least 10 days of rest and then a steady build-up, but now we are eight days away from the start in Denmark.”