The American from the Education First team broke his hand after falling on Friday on the 7th stage of the Great Loop.

American Tejay Van Garderen, who fell on Friday at the start of the 7th stage, gave up on chasing the Tour de France, announced his Education First team in the evening. Van Garderen suffers from a broken left hand, an injury diagnosed after the finish of the stage in Chalon-sur-Saone.

"I can not blame anyone, except myself," said the American, who hit a median 7 kilometers after leaving Belfort, "I was looking at my bike because there was something there. like a piece of paper, which was attached, my eyes were downcast. " Helped by his teammates, Van Garderen was back in the pack and was only left behind in the last 5 kilometers.

"It's the disappointment that dominates for the moment"

After the finish, he went to take exams with the team's chief medical officer, Kevin Sprouse, and one of the Tour doctors. "In addition to multiple abrasions, Tejay has a non-moving fracture at the base of the first metacarpal in his left hand and had to have a splint," said Dr. Sprouse. The boss of the American team, Jonathan Vaughters, explained that it was preferable that his rider stop the race, as a measure of safety vis-à-vis himself and other competitors.

"This is the disappointment that dominates for the moment, less for me than for the team, has reacted" TVG "Rigo (Uran) and Woods both have a great chance to get on the podium, or even to win the Tour, I would have loved to contribute. " The 30-year-old American placed 5th in the Tour de France in 2012 and 2014. He took second place in the last Dauphiné.