Roelandts suffers relapse

In a high speed crash on stage one of the TDU which resulted in three riders and a spectator being hospitalised Roelandts was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital for X-rays on his neck which revealed a fractured vertebra.

Since the dramatic accident on 17 January Roelandts had been working hard on his recovery, and was expected him to travel with his team to the Algarve for endurance work with his return scheduled for the Tirreno Adriatico.

But those plans have been interrupted.

Roelandts experienced sudden complaints of dizziness and was taken to the neurosurgery department at the ‘Onze Lieve Vrouw’ hospital in Aalst.

The doctors' diagnosis was that the blood vessel that was bruised during the TDU accident was fully blocked. This was caused by a tear in his neck artery and explained his fresh symptoms because the blood flow to his brain was blocked.

On Monday Roelandts was admitted to the ‘stroke’ department of the hospital for an extra 72 hours of observation, but he has shown no other symptoms beside the dizziness.

This relapse has set back his plans of getting back into peloton during the Flemish Classics.

Doctors are expected to make a conclusion shortly on when Roelandts will be able to ride again.