Boonen out of Vuleta with broken hand

04-Sep-2011: Tom Boonen was involved today in a group pile up before the Alto del Cordal. Boonen finished the race regardless, but he suffered a serious contusion to his left hand due to the fall. The Quick-Step rider was taken to the General Hospital in Gijon (Spain) for further tests, that evidenced a fracture to his left scaphoid. 

As a consequence of his hand fracture, Boonen won't be on the start line for the 16th stage of the Vuelta on Wednesday, September 6.

"I was twentieth in the group when in the span of a moment I found myself on the ground, due to a sudden movement of the peloton. I immediately understood that my problem was serious, but I wanted to finish the race and then evaluate what to do together with the team's medical staff. I didn't even manage to hold the handlebar, I had a lot of trouble getting to the finish line. It's a really tough moment for me. I was doing really well in the past few days and, as we're getting closer to the World Championship, it was perfect. The entire scenario changed in a moment. I am very disappointed."