From Bad to Worse: BMC's Gilbert Breaks Finger in Fight

When Greg Van Avermaet went down in a crash during the Tour of Flanders, which included several of his teammates and resulted in a broken collarbone for BMC's Classics leader, it seemed like their luck couldn't get much worse. But after a very promising start to the season, it has: Philippe Gilbert is now sidelined with a broken finger sustained in a fight with two drunken morons. Apparently Gilbert was out on a training ride with teammate Loic Vliegen in Belgium and, for unreported reasons, the idiots got out of their car and went after the former World and Belgian champion. The result is a broken middle finger with five pins inserted to facilitate the healing process.

W...T...F...?

So now Gilbert will wait and see how he feels next week before he can resume his Ardennes classics campaign. He says he's basically OK, but as well so often hear, the body has a healing process it needs to go thru, so even if he can ride his bike, Gilbert might find a bit of energy gone. No matter what, this is creepy and unsettling, and unbelievably bad fortune for BMC.