Team RadioShack's Yaroslav Popovych Abandons Tour de France 2011

News & Results

07/12/2011| 0 comments
by Thomas A. Valentinsen
Team RadioShack's Yaroslav Popovych. Photo Fotoreporter Sirotti.
Team RadioShack's Yaroslav Popovych. Photo Fotoreporter Sirotti.

Team RadioShack's Yaroslav Popovych Abandons Tour de France 2011

Team RadioShack's Yaroslav Popovych will not be at the start line of today's stage 10 of the 2011 Tour de France.

Team RadioShack's Yaroslav Popovych will not be at the start line of today's stage 10 of the 2011 Tour de France.

Popovych has been suffering from fever since Sunday and as yesterday's rest day didn't cause Popovych's condition to improve, the team earlier today announced it has decided not to let him start in Aurillac today. According to a team spokesman, the former Tour de France stage winner will undergo additional examination later today.

Popovych crashed twice in stage five of this year's Tour de France, but thanks to his great will power and character he managed to survive four more stages. The current illness in his body however makes an end to his Tour de France participation.

Earlier in this year's Tour de France, Team RadioShack lost its leader Jani Brajkovic in a crash which caused a collarbone fracture. The team also lost other captain Chris Horner who exited the Tour with a severe concussion and nose fracture.
Other RadioShack team leader Levi Leipheimer crashed three times and final leader Andreas Klöden suffers from lower back hematoma and muscle contracture after a big crash taking place on the wet roads of Sunday's stage. Leipheimer and Klöden, however, will take the start today and Klöden hopes his condition will improve in the coming days in time for the decisive mountain stages of this year's Tour.

The loss of Popovych is a major blow for the team as it will hamper the team's supply chain in the peloton. Popovych was responsible for transporting supplies from the team cars to the team's leaders Andreas Klöden and Levi Leipheimer. Now this role is left to weaker team members and the leaders themselves which will impair their chances of finishing high in the overall Tour de France classification.

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