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Garmin’s Caldwell breaks leg while training

Published: Apr. 2, 2009
So close: Caldwell and Hamilton at the pro road championships in South Carolina last year.
So close: Caldwell and Hamilton at the pro road championships in South Carolina last year.
Photo: Casey B. Gibson

Garmin-Slipstream rider Blake Caldwell, who narrowly missed out on a national road championship in a photo finish against Tyler Hamilton last September, fell while training in Spain Thursday and broke his femur.

Team manager Jonathan Vaughters confirmed that Caldwell had fractured the neck of his femoral head while training in Girona.

“It’s a similar injury to what happened to Floyd Landis,” Vaughters said. “Hopefully Blake won’t have all the same problems Floyd had.”

Landis crashed and fractured his hip during training in January 2003. After a pair of surgeries, the hip joint eventually developed avascular necrosis as the femoral head withered away, leading to subsequent osteoarthritis. In September 2006 Landis had the joint resurfaced.

Later Thursday, Caldwell posted to his blog: “I was heading out for a ride this morning and fell on my hip. Felt something when I landed and, yep, it’s fractured. I can't believe it. (Three) hours ago I was motivated as could be about getting out training in the pissing rain for Pais Vasco. More to follow ... Getting surgery done in a few hours.”

It was the third devastating injury in just over a year for Caldwell, who rebounded from a broken hip at the February 2008 Étoile de Bessèges to finish second overall at last year’s Tour of Utah.

Shortly after just missing out on a national title, Caldwell crashed hard during the stage 3 time trial at the Tour of Missouri, ending his season with a broken clavicle, a broken sternum, a fracture to his iliac wing (hip bone) and minor lung contusions

Vaughters said he wasn’t sure how much racing Caldwell would miss, but said he expected it would be at least three months.

“It’s tough to say for sure,” Vaughters said, “but I’m thinking we won’t see him racing again until after the Tour de France.”