Olympian Fabian Cancellara injured, withdraws from Tour de France; the married biker is recovering with wife and kids

Fabian Cancellara has reportedly withdrawn from Tour de France.  The Olympic champion dropped out of the race after he fractured his vertebrae in a crash during the race. In the crash that interrupted the race on 6th July, Cancellara broke two of his vertebrae. Cancellara was involved in another crash earlier this year in which he sustained several injuries.  

Cancellara continued the race even after the crash, even while he was feeling dizzy and uncomfortable. After he finished the round, Cancellara was immediately taken in for medical help. CT scans showed fractures in his L3 and L4 vertebrae. Cancellara had fractured two of his lower vertebrae in the crash on March. This was during the E3 Harelbeke in Belgium.

Cancellara’s racing team, Trek Factory Racing issued a public statement after the crash to announced the bad news:

Two transverse process fractures in two vertebrae bones of the lower back,” It said, “But this time the L3 and L4 vertebrae on the right side were the culprits, not the L2 and L3 on the left side he injured in Harelbeke.”

Cancellara also said that this was bad news for him. He said, “This is incredibly disappointing for me,” The biker continued, “The team was on a high with the yellow jersey and were very motivated to defend it. We have had a lot of crashes and injuries since the start of the season, and we finally had a great 24 hours but now it’s back to bad luck. One day you win, one day you lose.”

“It was very hard to come back in shape after my crash in Harelbeke and getting the confidence. The yellow jersey gave me a huge boost for the cobblestone stage tomorrow”, said Cancellara about his previous injury.

Cancellara is worried as this might be his last tour. His contract with Trek Factory Racing expires on 2016. But the general manager for the team doesn’t want the weight of this to bother him right now. Luca Guercilena said, “Fabian still has some goals to reach before he retires.”

Cancellara is currently going through treatment at a hospital, where he was rushed to immediately after the crash.  He said he wants to go home to his wife and children and doesn’t want to think about cycling for the next few days. Cancellara is married to Stefanie Cancellara. They have two daughters, Giuliana, age 9 and Elina, age 3.

Fans have been highly supportive of Cancellara. They expressed their regards to him on social media like Instagram and Twitter.

Cancellara started cycling at a young age, he was in the junior national team for Switzerland. However, his pro career started in the early 2000s. His Olympic win was perhaps the height of his career. Cancellara was in the news in 2010 after allegations were made suggesting he used a motorized bike in Tour of Flanders. Cancellara denied the allegations. He is one of the highest paid cyclists, with a big annual salary.