Astana rider lucky to escape serious injury in scary Flèche Wallonne crash (video)
Michael Valgren requires stitches to his face after crash
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Astana rider Michael Valgren was lucky to escape serious injury after a nasty crash in La Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday.
Valgren crashed heavily with 65km remaining in the race, appearing to land on his face before rolling across the tarmac. He was then treated by race doctors as he sat at the side of road with his head bleeding.
>>> Unstoppable Alejandro Valverde wins La Flèche Wallonne for fifth time
According to his team, the Danish rider was then taken to the local hospital where he had stitches to the wounds on his face, but tests did not reveal any fractures or other serious injuries.
Valgren also took to Twitter to tell his fans that he was OK after the crash, even if that assurance was accompanied by a pretty gruesome photograph.
Valgren's crash was one of a number of unfortunate incidents in the race for the Kazakh team, whose best rider was Jakob Fuglsang in 22nd place.
"Unfortunately, this heavy crash happened and it had a big impact over team’s strategy in the race. We hope, Michael will get well soon," said Lars Michaelsen, one of the team's directeurs sportifs.
"But, anyway, it was not the only bad luck for us in this race. With more or less 20 km to go Tanel Kangert got a flat tire. Andriy Grivko provided him his rear wheel and Tanel tried his best to come back in the peloton.
>>> Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2017 start list
"But, it was a bad moment, since the peloton increased the pace significantly starting a hard chase of the break. So, it was really impossible for Kangert to come back. It is a pity, because he felt very good today and was motivated to fight for a strong result."
Valgren had been expected to be part of the Astana team for Sunday's Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but could now be out of action for a number of weeks.
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Henry Robertshaw began his time at Cycling Weekly working with the tech team, writing reviews, buying guides and appearing in videos advising on how to dress for the seasons. He later moved over to the news team, where his work focused on the professional peloton as well as legislation and provision for cycling. He's since moved his career in a new direction, with a role at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
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