Belgian cyclist Remco Evenepoel broke his pelvis and suffered a bruise in his right lung after falling during a cycling race in Italy.
Important points:
- Evenepoel was hospitalized after an accident on the last 50km of the Tour of Lombardy
- His team said he hit a bridge wall and fell into a ravine
- The Belgian was the racing favorite
The 20-year-old Evenepoel “fell on the last 50 kilometers while descending Muro di Sormano, hit a bridge wall and walked over it into a ravine,” said his Deceuninck Quick Step team in a statement.
The team said he was rushed to a hospital in Como by ambulance after being placed in a neck brace.
“Remco was placed on a preventative neck brace and taken by ambulance to Como hospital. He was conscious as he underwent a series of tests to determine the extent of his injury,” said Deceuninck-Quick Step.
“Unfortunately, the x-rays showed a broken pelvis and a bruise to the right lung, which will keep Evenepoel on the sidelines for the period ahead.
“Our driver will stay under surveillance overnight in the hospital before flying to Belgium on Sunday.”
Evenepoel was the Tour of Lombardy race favorite, having already taken nine wins this season – more than any other driver.
The Belgian was among a select group of leading riders when he crashed.
The Dane Jakob Fuglsang defeated George Bennett from Jumbo-Visma by 31 seconds and won the race, one of the five one-day “monuments” of cycling. Aleksandr Vlasov finished third for Astana.
The one-day tour of Lombardy usually takes place in October but was postponed to August when the racing calendar was reformulated after a four and a half month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Evenepoel accident follows another cycling accident earlier this month in which Dutch cyclist Fabio Jakobsen was in a medically induced coma.
Last year, another Belgian cyclist, Björg Lambrecht, died after falling on the third stage of the Poland tour.
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