Tour de France concussion cases expose limits of roadside checks

AURILLAC, France, July 14 : As happens every year, crashes have punctuated the opening week of the Tour de France, with several incidents highlighting how difficult it remains to manage concussion in a sport where the clock is always ticking.Of the eight riders who have abandoned the Tour since the race began in Barcelona on July 4, three withdrew because of concussion: Frenchman Clement Berthet of Groupama-FDJ United, Dutch rider Alex Molenaar of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA and Norway’s Torstein Traeen of Uno-X Mobility, who briefly wore the yellow jersey.All three had one thing in common: they crashed, completed the stage and then withdrew later that evening once the diagnosis had been made.Berthet went down heavily during the opening team time trial, Molenaar crashed five km from the finish