Terpstra crashes out of Tour de France

Cobbled-classics champion Niki Terpstra's woes continue this season as Dutchman fractures scapula in Stage 11 crash.

Dutchman Niki Terpstra crashes out on Stage 11 of the Tour de France with a double fracture of the shoulder. Source: AAP

Last year's Tour of Flanders winner Niki Terpstra (Total Direct Energie) cannot seem to catch a lucky break this season, but the former Paris-Roubaix winner did in fact suffer a bad break during crash with fellow Dutchman Sebastian Langeveld (EF Education First) and others inside the final 30 kilometres of the 167-km 11th stage of the Tour de France on Wednesday.

More directly, the recently turned 35-year-old (18 May) fractured his scapula to force him out of the 106th edition of the Tour de France.

"I fell on my head and shoulder," said Terpstra. "Honestly I didn't even know I was lying on the asphalt. I was a bit dizzy, but my shoulder hurt especially badly."

Further examination revealed Terpstra had suffered a "double fracture of the should blade and ligament injury" in the fall, according to his team via Twitter.

This is not the first injury for Terpstra, who moved to French-registered UCI Professional Continental team after eight successful seasons with QuickStep after the Belgian WorldTour team reportedly lacked the funds to keep the cobbled-classics specialist rostered.

Winner of both the 2014 Paris-Roubaix and last year's E3 Harelbeke, Terpstra also crashed out with a concussion while defending his Flanders title in April.

Terpstra also took to Twitter following his abandonment to share his disappointment in leaving the Tour and the forecast regarding his immediate future.