The Discovery Channel pro cycling team's Tomas Vaitkus broke his thumb in that huge pile-up near the finish of Stage 2 on Monday and will not continue the Tour.
The pileup in Ghent took a toll on two American riders as well, although they plan to continue the race.
Discovery's George Hincapie bruised his knee (New York Times says right knee, CyclingNews said left knee), but is expected to return on Stage 3. Freddy Rodriguez of Predictor Lotto got two deep cuts on his elbow stitched up. (Update: There's a video interview at VeloNews with Hincapie after the race. It is definitely his right knee.)
The crash apparently happened with touched wheels near the front of the peloton. Since riders were inside the 3-kilometer mark, and wouldn't be docked time, they took time to watch the finishing action on huge TV monitors set up for the crowds.
Vaitkus, a 25-year-old racer from Lithuania, is a sprinter on Discovery. He broke several bones in his right thumb and doctors were to screw in a plate. This was Vaitkus' first Tour de France.
Hincapie and Rodriguez both have had their scrapes recently. Hincapie injured his shoulder last year in the Paris-Robaix and missed several weeks, and missed some time against when he broke his wrist in the 2007 Tour of California.
Rodriguez suffered a severe injury in last year's Tour de France when he and another rider hit a pothole at the side of the road.
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