VN news ticker: Peter Sagan to miss Olympic Games, Jack Haig out of Tokyo road race

Peter Sagan to miss Olympics

Peter Sagan will miss the Olympic Games after undergoing minor surgery on his knee.

The Slovakian injured his knee when he caught it on a chainring during a crash with Caleb Ewan during stage 3 of the Tour de France. He was forced to abandon the race last week after he further aggravated it when he hit his knee on the handlebars during a sprint.

After returning home to Monaco, he developed an infection that would not clear with antibiotics, so a decision was made to surgically remove it.

The Slovak Olympic Committee confirmed that he would be replaced by Lukáš Kubiš.

Jack Haig out of Olympic Games

Jack Haig will miss the Olympic Games as he continues to recover from a broken collarbone he suffered in a crash during the opening week of the Tour de France. Haig abandoned the Tour on stage 3 after crashing hard in the chaotic final kilometers.

Haig is the second member of the Australian men’s road team to pull out of the competition after Cameron Meyer dropped out to spend more time with his ill father. Meyer was replaced by Lucas Hamilton, but he is now in doubt after he suffered an acromioclavicular joint dislocation in his right shoulder during a crash at the Tour de France.

“So it’s been exactly 2 weeks since crashing out of the Tour de France. Unfortunately my fracture was much worst [sic] than first expected. The surgery was long and more invasive than normal, making the recovery period longer,” Haig wrote on his Instagram page. “I should hopefully be outside on the bike by the end of this week. Unfortunately this means I will be missing out on the Olympics.

“The Australian Olympic team have been very understand [sic] and allowed me the maximum amount of time for my recovery, but with the longer recovery period now I’m not going to ready in time. On the upside it’s allowed me some time at home to be with the family and enjoy summer while I’m recovering.”

Amund Grøndahl Jansen abandons Tour de France

Amund Grøndahl Jansen is the third rider to abandon the Tour de France from Team BikeExchange. The Norwegian has pulled out over the rest day due to injuries he sustained in a crash on the first day of the race.

Team BikeExchange has already lost Lucas Hamilton and Simon Yates to a heavy crash on a descent during stage 13.