BMC Racing Team's Marco Pinotti broke two ribs and injured his shoulder when he crashed during Thursday's individual time trial at the Tour Méditerranéen.

Wind May Be To Blame
Pinotti had just turned a left corner on a fast section of the 24 km course before the final climb of Mont Saint Claire. "It was a tailwind on that section and I crashed a couple of meters after the corner," Pinotti said. "It was probably the wind because I didn't crash exactly on the corner. I was still coming out of it, turning left and the wind was coming from the left." Despite his injuries, the five time Italian national time trial champion rode the final four kilometers to the finish despite an average gradient of 15 percent. "It was really painful to breathe, but after five or six minutes I decided to finish the race because it was only four kilometers."

Collarbone Not Broken
Pinotti, winner of time trials at the Giro d'Italia and the Tour of Austria last year, broke his left collarbone when he crashed at the world time trial championships last September. "He injured his collarbone at the same side where he injured it before," BMC Racing Team Doctor Scott Major said. "The ribs he broke are more like hairline fractures and are not displaced, so he had no injuries to his lungs, kidney or spleen. He does have a lot of abrasions on his left side: his back, his shoulder and his hip. He will probably be off his bike for seven to ten days and then the medical team will re-evaluate things before we decide how quickly he can start training again."

Race officials announced that Friday's third stage is canceled due to "unsatisfactory security conditions."