Teniel Campbell crashes out upcoming Tour of Flanders

Pro cyclist Teniel Campbell will sit out the next race of her team’s Belgian itinerary after she was involved in serious crash during Sunday’s Gent-Wevelgem race.

Campbell, who races for Team BikeExchange, suffered broken teeth and a busted chin and will use the coming days, maybe even weeks, to recover. This accident rules her out of the upcoming Tour of Flanders in Belgium.

On Thursday, Campbell posted to Facebook, “Unfortunately, I would not be at the start of Flanders this year. A crash in Ghent caused me to hit my chin which shattered my teeth (more serious than expected). I also sustained an opened chin which quickly got stitched up.

“Luckily I escaped a fractured / broken jaw so I am thankful to God for small mercies. However with my jaw muscles being tight and having spasms, the procedure to operate on my teeth is a bit slow as I cannot open my mouth wide and long enough.”

For the past month, the road cyclist has been competing on the European circuit in Italy, France and Belgium.

Campbell remains upbeat for a speedy recovery but is well aware that she may be off the bike for a reasonable amount of time.

She added, “I have a few challenges ahead of me that will test my mental strength but there is still the possibility to be at the start of Paris Roubaix! The cobbles are still calling me but recovery is also priority.”

Campbell is one of just two TT female pro road cyclists and is the first from the Caribbean to ever qualify for an Olympic Games (Tokyo 2020).