Canada’s Hesjedal says he’s racing with a broken rib at Tour de France

MARSEILLE, France – Canadian cyclist Ryder Hesjedal has been competing in the Tour de France with a broken rib.

Hesjedal said he suffered the injury in a crash during the race’s opening stage, and the fractured rib was confirmed in an X-ray on Wednesday after the fifth stage.

The Victoria native and former Giro d’Italia winner said knowing the extent of the injury will help medical staff treat it going forward.

“I have had some discomfort since the crash I was involved in during Stage 1,” Hesjedal said. “A scan today confirmed a fracture so at least now we know what we’re dealing with.

“A lot of times with rib injuries fractures don’t show up right away so waiting until today we were able to confirm what’s going on. There’s not much you can do about a fractured rib except for deal with the discomfort so that is what I’ve been doing and will keep doing.”

Hesjedal is currently in 14th place overall, 17 seconds behind leader Simon Gerrans.