Laurens De Plus (Quick-Step Floors) has said that he was fortunate not to have sustained more serious injuries in his crash on the descent of the Sormano during Il Lombardia on Saturday.
The Belgian was the first of four riders to crash on the same bend, and he sustained a small fracture to his right knee when he plunged into a ravine on the roadside while chasing lone leader Mickael Chérel (AG2R La Mondiale).
De Plus’ fellow countryman Jan Bakelants (AG2R La Mondiale) suffered seven broken ribs and two fractured vertebrae in his crash, while Simone Petilli (UAE-Team Emirates) broke his collarbone, shoulder blade, two vertebrae and suffered a concussion.
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“I was very lucky,” De Plus said, according to Belga. “After my crash, I was looked after very quickly and very well by the race doctors. They did their job well in a very professional way.”
De Plus endured an ordeal of a different kind that evening, however, due to a shortage of hospital beds in the vicinity.
“At first, they wanted to transport me to the same hospital as Bakelants, but it was full, so I was brought to Cantù but that was full too. I had to sleep in the corridor because the rooms were full,” De Plus said. “I arrived at around 5pm after a long journey by ambulance, and I wasn’t taken care of until 8.30pm. I was in a lot of pain. I spent three and a half hours on a stretcher. It was terrible, I was counting every minute.”
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