Visconti and Sutton out of Tour Down Under

There will be two more names added to the list of non-starters for this year's Tour Down Under, after both Giovanni Visconti and Christopher Sutton crashed out of the People's Choice Classic in Adelaide. Both men crashed at high speed in the pre-Tour criterium race, whilst Visconti was left on the ground, Sutton remarkably managed to finish the race in fourth place.

Visconti was left on the ground after breaking his leg in the crash. He has since been operated on in hospital, and has been told to spend five weeks off the bike before beginning his rehabilitation. Visconti will be staying in the Adelaide Medical Centre for three days before flying home from Australia with his teammates next week. It is unclear yet when Visconti will be able to return to action.

Sutton, despite crashing in the same incident, carried on racing, as yet unaware to the condition of his wrist. After sprinting to fourth in the race, his wrist became painful, rendering him unable to grip the handlebars. An X-ray at hospital detected a small fracture. Sutton will also stay in Australia with the team, but will be unable to take part in his home Tour.

Speaking of his return, Sutton stated; "I'm trying to stay upbeat and looking forward to the Tour of Qatar now. That should be my first race back and I'll have a week or so on the turbo before getting myself back on the road." 

Team Sky decided to fly new recruit Nathan Earle out to Australia to take part in the race, making both his team and WorldTour debut. Visconti and Sutton crashing out means there will be three differences to the original startlist for the race, after Thomas Voeckler of Team Europcar crashed, fracturing his collarbone shortly after arriving in Australia.