Tour de France: Rafal Majka targets late season races after leaving tour
By Andy Charles
Last Updated: 19/07/17 10:04am
Rafal Majka hopes to get back to full fitness for the latter part of the 2017 season after crashing out of the Tour de France.
The Pole, who was sitting in 10th overall on Sunday morning, made it to the end of the stage more than 36 minutes down on winner Rigoberto Uran but decided during Monday's rest day that his race was done.
"I have pain everywhere, but I was lucky to have no fractures at all," Majka said.
"I cannot explain exactly what happened when I crashed. I didn't break or anything, but my front wheel slipped away.
"Also Risto, our mechanic, almost fell when he arrived with the spare bike. There must have been some oil or something similar on the road.
"After this heavy crash, it does not make any sense to keep on fighting. I can hardly breathe because of the pain. We had to take a wise decision, for my health, but also for the rest of the season.
"I'll take some rest now, then I will start preparing myself for the rest of the season."
