Bevin taken to hospital after Tour Down Under crash
19 January 2019 09:04
CCC Team were left waiting on news of Patrick Bevin's health after the leader of the Tour Down Under crashed heavily on stage 5 of the race on Saturday. The Kiwi crashed with several other riders with 10 kilometres to go. He was cut adrift from the peloton as they raced towards the finish line, but managed to regain contact with the field thanks in part to a long draft from his team car. After the finish – having retained his overall lead – he was rushed to hospital for check-ups and X-rays. At one point, it looked as though the peloton had eased up when they heard that the race leader had crashed. Cyclingnews spoke to several riders and teams regarding the matter, and it's clear that some riders wanted the pace to ease, while other squads were keen to keep their position near the front of the bunch in order to prepare for the sprint.ADVERTISEMENT The crash was a racing incident and came after the hammer had dropped, so the peloton were well within their rights to keep their pace. "It was too close to the finish, so it's too hard to slow people down in the last 10 kilometres. You know, I've been there before where they've stopped," said CCC team manager Jim Ochowicz. "If they'd been within 25, maybe 30, kilometres from the finish, then I would have maybe expected them to slow down until we got back in position, but, you know, the sprinter teams are up there trying to win, and you just can't control that.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com.read full article
