Jan Tratnik supports Jumbo-Visma from hospital: "I’m heartbroken because I can’t ride with other bees"

Jan Tratnik was successfully operated on his knee after a training accident and now supports his Jumbo-Visma teammates from hospital.

The Slovenian tells the story of happened to him in a recent Instagram post: "I’m still searching for reasons why this had to happen. It was a nice morning ride, I was coming back to hotel happy and excited, because I knew it was last training before Giro d’Italia."

"But 2km before our team hotel, car crossed my line and I couldn’t do anything about it. Lady didn’t see me and she rode directly into me. I tried to avoid serious injuries and in the last moment turned to the right. I flew in the air, crashed in a tree and finished on the ground. In the end, I can be happy that upper body is without any injuries. Looks like the most damage hit my knee and tibia."

"I’m heartbroken because I can’t ride with other bees. I wish them all the best and hopefully this is the end of bad luck for us," Tratnik ends his post while reminding that he's just another cut from Jumbo-Visma's original Giro d'Italia lineup, following Tobias Foss, Robert Gesink and Jos van Emden who all had to be replaced due to Covid-19.

Tratnik was brought in by Jumbo-Visma this winter as an important domestique for compatriot Primoz Roglic. For this Giro, the rider was one of the men who should assist the one of the top favourites uphill, which he was more than ready for, given his strong performance in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.