🎥 Eekhoff breaks tooth and jaw in crash at AlUla Tour, out for six to eight weeks

The third stage of the AlUla Tour was again a success for Tim Merlier, but looking back, more people will talk about Nils Eekhoff's ugly crash. In the absolute final stage, the Picnic PostNLrider crashed unpleasantly into a lamppost. The 27-year-old Dutch rider was taken to the hospital, where the final damage was assessed.

It was a crash like you often see in the chaos of a final: Gorka Sorarrain of Caja Rural - Seguros RGA looked back in the last kilometer. As a result, he didn't realize he was being passed on to the other side. He collided with the rider on his right, then smashed into the asphalt at high speed. Miraculously, Eekhoff managed to avoid the crash initially, but his maneuver caused him to hit a curb.

The Dutch rider lost control of his bike and then smashed hard into a lamppost. The blow was enormous with his head forward. He remained on the ground: the ambulance was there quickly, as was team leader Roy Curvers. His pupil seemed to be in a lot of pain, and he was put in the ambulance moments later. Not much is known about the damage, but teammate Niklas Märkl saw it happen. "It doesn't look good," he told me, visibly shocked after the finish. The German reported mainly damage to Eekhoff's face and teeth.

Read more below the video!

Eekhoff logically did not reach finish line after crash

Several other riders also saw the ugly crash of Eekhoff, whose injuries came out in the AlUla Tour's race report. According to the organization, the Dutch rider was struggling with craniofacial trauma, tooth fracture, and wounds to the chin. Further radiological tests are being conducted at the hospital to determine and treat the exact injuries.

Meanwhile, Picnic PostNL logically reported that Eekhoff would not start tomorrow after he had not made it to the finish after his crash. Later, his team will provide further updates.

Eekhoff breaks tooth and jaw

Thursday evening, Team Picnic PostNL released an update on Eekhoff. "Nils sustained a heavy impact in the crash, and he has broken one tooth and fractured his jaw. For now, he has been cleared and discharged by the local hospital, but when he returns to the Netherlands, we will conduct further assessments on him here with our specialists to explore whether any surgery is needed," team doctor Camiel Aldershof said in the press release.

"Due to the nature of the injuries, we estimate that he will be off the bike for six to eight weeks, but of course, this can all change depending on those additional assessments," Aldershof concluded.

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