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Bäckstedt breaks collarbone at Qatar

Published: Jan. 31, 2008
Backstedt suffered another setback
Backstedt suffered another setback
Photo: Andrew Hood

Magnus Bäckstedt (Slipstream-Chipotle) promises he will be racing the northern classics despite snapping his right collarbone in a high-speed crash late in Thursday’s fifth stage at the 7th Tour of Qatar.

Bäckstedt , who celebrated his 33rd birthday on Wednesday, hit the deck hard after a QuickStep rider swept into his front wheel with 500m to go.

Despite the setback, Bäckstedt vows to lead the Slipstream-Chipotle team into Paris-Roubaix and other spring classics.

“A broken collarbone isn’t going to stop me from racing Roubaix,” Bäckstedt told VeloNews. “I rode the 2005 Roubaix with a fractured wrist. As long as the legs are working, it doesn’t matter what happens to the rest of my body. I will be there.”

Bäckstedt leaves the hospital in Qatar
Bäckstedt leaves the hospital in Qatar
Photo: Andrew Hood

Bäckstedt said when he tried to move his shoulder “it just went crunch” and there was no doubt that he had broken his collarbone.

“I’ve broken it clean off,” he said. “It’s not a crack, it’s snapped clean off.”

It’s the third broken clavicle in his career (“You’re not really a pro until you’ve broken your collarbone a few times”), but luckily wasn’t on his left side which was destroyed in a track accident on Friday the 13th in October, 2006.

“That was a career-threatening injury,” Bäckstedt said of his mangled left shoulder. “I literally ripped my shoulder off the rest of my body. All the ligaments and tendons that hold the shoulder in place are gone. It’s basically held in place with skin and muscle.”

Bäckstedt skipped a trip to a local hospital and instead is hoping to catch a late flight home back to Great Britain. Team doctor Prentice Steffen wrapped up his shoulder and Bäckstedt said his favored specialist back home will decide if surgery is necessary.

“Either way, I will be back on the rollers within two days,” he said. “I should be able to be back training on the bike within 10 days or so. I’m far enough out from the classics that I shouldn’t have to worry about losing too much (fitness).”

Bäckstedt said the crash came just as Slipstream was moving up on the right side of the peloton to set up its promising sprinter, Chris Sutton.

Bäckstedt said he’s not deterred by a recent string of mishaps that include crashes, illnesses and even a successful fight against melanoma.

“You can’t race scared. I ride aggressively and I take risks. It’s something I’ve lived with a long time. That’s not going to change,” he said. “It’s part of that adrenalin rush of racing. That’s part of the game. If try to race conservatively, you might as well give it up.”

Slipstream-Chipotle is expecting a bid to race Paris-Roubaix and other spring classics, but no official invitations have been presented.

Convinced that he will be ready for Roubaix, Bäckstedt said he’s hoping for a rainy, miserable day. It’s been dry too long in the cobble-stoned classics for his tastes.

“I like the rain. Every year I do the rain dance and it’s dry,” he concluded. “This year, I will skip the rain dance and maybe it will race. I hope so.”

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