Katusha’s Marco Haller out for months after being hit by car during training ride
27-year-old Austrian sustains multiple fractures to left knee.
Katusha-Alpecin’s Marco Haller will miss several months of racing after being hit by a car during a training ride on Wednesday.
While riding in his home country with compatriot Bernhard Eisel (Dimension Data), the 27-year-old Austrian sustained multiple fractures to his left knee when he was struck by a car that had ignored a stop sign.
“It was my second day back on the bike, after I had to recover from a second viral infection in the 2018 season,” Haller said via a team press release.
“I was riding with Bernie Eisel and was sitting in his wheel in a slight downhill, when suddenly a car, ignoring the stop sign, came at us from the right. Bernie just managed to escape him, but I could not do that and hit the driver’s door at full speed. My bike was completely destroyed and my knee as well.”
Haller is a key member of Marcel Kittel’s lead-out train, but will now miss the Tour de France. According to his team, the timetable for Haller’s return to competition remains unclear.