Philipsen, who experienced a nasty fall during a sprint in the course of the race yesterday, has been forced to quit the Tour de France. The hero of Lille, where he won the first stage of the Tour only days ago, and wearer of the green jersey, honouring the leader of the points classification, broke his collarbone and several ribs.
A day after his fall the unlucky rider successfully underwent an operation on his broken collarbone. Everything went well, his team let it be known.
Immediately after his fall Philipsen was rushed to Belgium where he underwent successful surgery at Herentals Hospital, his team Alpecin-Deceuninck announced. Doctors Tom and Steven Claes took care of his broken collarbone.
In an Instagram photo, Philipsen already gives a thumb up and can even smile.