Cancellara and Langeveld suffered collarbone fractures in Tour of Flanders

Crashes marked the 96th edition of the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Fabian Cancellara, Sebastian Langeveld and Johan Vansummeren were among the riders to fall out of contention when they touched down inside the final 65 kilometers of the race.

Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan) crashed hard in a feed zone with 62km to go. The Swiss champion lay on the road for minutes, his race over, and emergency personnel transported him to a local hospital with a fractured clavicle.

The RadioShack team reported after the race that Cancellara had suffered three fractures to his right collarbone. The collarbone was operated in Basel yesterday. The operation in Basel lasted 90 minutes and was without complications, the SportInformation agency informed.

RadioShack-Nissan team doctor Andreas Goesele also said he was optimistic about the rider's recovery and that he could even be back in the saddle and training from Tuesday!!!???

Sebastian Langeveld (GreenEdge) went down in a freak crash with a spectator, also suffering a broken clavicle. Langeveld, the Australian squad’s top hope in De Ronde, move onto a sidewalk adjacent the course in order to move forward in the peloton with 42km remaining.

As the Dutchman came around a lightpole, a spectator caught between the peloton and a handful of riders on the bike path began to run away from the road. Langeveld’s front wheel caught the spectator’s leg and both fell to the ground.