Five British riders hit by car in Belgium
- Friday, 7 May 2010
- 11 Comments
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Five British women's national team riders were injured this morning after being involved in a collision with a car on a training ride in Belgium.
As a result of the accident that happened at approximately 10:30 this morning, Hannah Mayho is being treated for a broken femur, arm and wrist.
Fellow Academy riders Lucy Martin and Katie Colclough also went down in the accident. Martin suffered a crushed vertebrae while Colclough has been treated for concussion.
Emma Trott and Sarah Reynolds were also out riding with the team. According to Great Britain team manager Simon Cope, Trott has a broken collarbone "and looks like she's gone through ten rounds with Tyson". Sarah Reynolds got off the lightest with a split chin.
"Basically the whole academy squad has been wiped out by a car," summarised Cope. "They were descending a hill between Oudenaarde and Brakel when it pulled out from the left."
Mayho, who was on the front of the group, is thought to have taken the brunt of the impact from the side. She is now scheduled to go into surgery this afternoon to have her leg pinned.
The accident echoes an incident in July 2005 when six members of the Australian women's team were hit by a car while training in Germany. This saw 19 year old Amy Gillett lose her life.
"The good thing in this instance is that they're all alive," said Cope. "If it happened in England you wouldn't be surprised. You don't expect that to happen here in Belgium, though. Everyone's so bike friendly and everywhere is geared up for bike riding and bike racing."
Cope explained that the riders had been out on a three hour steady ride prior to ramping up preparation for the Tour l'Aude which starts next Friday.
World Champion Nicole Cooke was the only regular member of the team not present on today's outing. Although based in Switzerland, she does frequently join the Academy riders at their European base in Oudenaarde.
"At a different time she might have been out," said Cope. "I often ride with them too, but today I stayed at the office to plan for the Tour l'Aude. Obviously that's in jeopardy now. We don't have the volume of riders to replace the team."
Reader comments
Add your commentsMay 07 17:20
adam m
Always horrible to hear.... Hope everyone recovers quickly...
May 07 17:35
gordon shaw
What an awful accident, this type of accident makes me very angry. This is happening too often and there's no excuse for it. Drivers who fail to demonstrate due care on the roads and who cause injury or death to cyclists or other road users should be dealt with severely. I just hope the girls make a full and quick recovery and they all get back to focusing on what they love doing.
Does anyone have an update on Jonny Bellis? Poor guy, I wish I had the funds to help him out.
May 07 17:36
Simon Willson
Very bad news, I hope they will be o.k and wish all the girls a speedy recovery. Bad drivers everywhere!!!!
May 07 18:23
John Morgan
Wish the girls a swift recovery, it's not nice but it is happening more often. I was wiped out by a car turning into me on Tuesday night and luckily escaped with lots of bruises and no broken bones. The police certainly took it seriously and the driver was arrested and charged. I think the police everywhere are starting to crack down now.
Gordon the news on Bellis is good, he's back training 2-3 hours a day and should be racing at the British championships over the summer before a full return with saxo bank before the end of the season! A truly amazing story.
May 07 20:58
Gethin Howells
Given the awesome form of the GB girls recently they should make sure it wasn't a case of sabotage! Get well soon.
May 07 21:28
Stewart Smith
Wishing all the girls a speedy and full recovery. At least being part of the acadamy the medical support will be 1st class. I was wiped out in January and now have 15 screws and 2 plates holding my elbow together and still cannot ride my bike. The Police witnessed this incident and are prosecuting the driver, I just hope the court will give him the sentence he deserves.
May 08 09:16
Angharad
This is dreadful news, I wish the girls a speedy recovery. Thank goodness Cooke wasn't with them on this occasion.
It's easy to condemn drivers for these accidents without knowing the circumstances, but I hope a full investigation will take place and blame apportioned where appropriate, with appropriate consequences. Perhaps it's time for all drivers to prove a minimum of six months or a year of cycling before being allowed to own a car. Not only would this improve their road skills, it might even make them fitter and let them see the light - cycling is fun, except when threatened by morons in motors.
May 08 11:41
Talbot Thrusj
Terrible accident ......
Hope you all make a speedy recovery.
Best of luck.
May 08 11:50
Mick Tarrant
Once again, illustrates how vunerable we all are and can always expect the unexpected. Only positive is that there were no fatalities. Pretty devastating for the GB team though. Really bad timing for Emma as she was running into a rich vein form but sure she will bounce back. Speedy recovery to all the girls.
May 08 12:33
Graham
Thoughts go out to all. Both bone injuries are potentially serious. I am still in recovery from a femur broken almost a year ago, but they have age on their side. Get well soon girls!!
May 10 02:46
Barb & Paul Pendrey, Auckland, New Zealand
We wish them a speedy recovery from New Zealand. Felt quite sick when I heard it on SKY news in NZ.
Brought back memories of the Aussie women's team and their dreadful accident.
I have just recovered from an accident while doing a training ride on my TT bike along Auckland's
waterfront. A car did a u turn right in front of me, on this occasion I was very lucky.
Get well soon.