Roubaix pileups send several riders to the hospital

Elia Viviani, hit by a race moto after a crash in Arenberg, was one of several riders injured on a hectic day on the cobblestones of northern France

Photo: TDW

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ROUBAIX, France (AFP) – A number of different incidents over the course of the race sent at least seven Paris-Roubaix starters to the hospital Sunday.

Sky’s Elia Viviani was hit by a motorcycle after a crash held up the peloton in Arenberg. The Italian sprinter suffered an injury to the sternum, but subsequent exams have ruled out a fracture.

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Mitchell Docker of Orica-GreenEdge, seemed to be the most severely affected of the many riders who abandoned the race due to injuries sustained in one crash or another. The teammate of race winner Mathew Hayman suffers from severe craniofacial and dental trauma, with multiple face wounds.

Etixx – Quick-Step’s Niki Terpstra, who won Paris-Roubaix in 2014, sustained a knee injury that forced him out of the race and into the hospital.

His teammate Nikolas Maes was also treated for injuries sustained during the crash-marred event, as were Nelson Oliveira and Francisco Ventoso of Movistar and Lampre – Merida’s Federico Zurlo.

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