What seemed to be a problem-free stage, became in the end one with a bitter aftertaste for the Dutch team. Thirty kilometres before the finish Martin crashed. Classification leader Primoz Roglic also went to the ground in the same crash, but was able to resume the race quickly and managed to keep the leader’s jersey.

Sports director Grischa Niermann briefly explained the situation. “Tony had a lot of pain in his elbow. He was therefore taken to the hospital for a check-up. We hope it’s all right and that he can get back on his bike soon. This is of course a huge loss for the team. We will have to race without him in the next few days, which means that the remaining six riders will have to work a little bit harder. Fortunately everyone is fit, so I hope we can keep the yellow until Nice.”

Roglic did not sustain any serious injuries from his crash. “It’s very unfortunate and unhappy that Tony is out now. Fortunately I’m fine; I don’t have any problems. Tony crashed right in front of me and I didn’t have enough time to avoid him, so I fell over him. This is just part of cycling. We have to go on without him.”

Examination in the hospital has shown that Martin suffers an elbow fracture due to his crash. As a result, he will probably if not certainly miss the Itzulia Basque Country in April.