Cyclist Jan Hirt received anesthetics for his injured teeth and will continue in the Tour de France.
The only Czech participant of the “Old Ladies” was injured after a fan grabbed his handlebars with a backpack strap on the way from the autograph event to the team bus before the start of the race.
He finished the opening stage with a loss of half an hour, then Hirt was treated by a dentist and, according to iDNES.cz, his teeth are fixed.
“Jan received anesthetics, he can’t talk much. If there are no complications, he will continue in the race. He looks calm,” described Hirt’s Soudal-Quick Step team spokesman Phil Lowe.
The 33-year-old Hirt, who finished eighth at the Giro d’Italia in May, is starting the Tour for the second time. He is supposed to help the Belgian star Remec Evenepoel, who finished eighth in the opening stage. Hirt with sore teeth and a split lip with half an hour lost in 162nd place.
“Today was really all about survival for him,” said the team’s sporting director Tom Steels. Like others, he did not understand the incident and was angry that the organizers could not handle the onslaught of spectators.
From the podium, where the riders always sign before the stage, Hirt and his teammates were returning to the team bus. “That’s when someone with a backpack grabbed his handlebars with a strap. Jan fell over them, flew onto the asphalt and broke his two front teeth,” Steels described. “We were a little scared,” he added.
Today, the peloton awaits 200 kilometers, the second stage leads from Cesenatico to Boloni.
