Simons Geschke’s former team-mate, Ion Izagirre, is determined not to let a serious injury stop him from competing in his final race. The 37-year-old Spanish professional cyclist will take part in the Tour of Lombardy on Saturday despite having a broken wrist. Izagirre announced this on Instagram – even though his team had already declared his season over.
“I don’t want to end my career like this. That’s why we’ll see each other on Saturday at the start in Lombardy,” said Izagirre. During the Tour de France, the Basque rider had often shared a room with Geschke, who had retired two years ago. On Saturday, Izagirre’s career will come to an end after 17 years.
Victory following a serious fall in training
Just over a week ago, the two-time Tour stage winner broke his left wrist in a crash during training. Team Cofidis declared Izagirre’s season – and with it, his career – to be over. This would have meant a victory in his final race would have been recorded in the statistics, as the Spaniard had won the Memorial Marco Pantani in mid-September.
Izagirre is unlikely to have any chance of victory in the extremely demanding Tour of Lombardy. It remains to be seen whether he will even be able to finish the 240-kilometre race from Bergamo to Como whilst carrying this injury. A total of nine climbs must be tackled in the final classic of the season.
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