A fan was hospitalized with serious injuries after an “awful, freak” high-speed pileup during Australia’s Tour Down Under (TDU), organizers said yesterday.
Video on social media showed a group of cyclists hitting the barricades on the last corner of the men’s classic sprint race around the Adelaide streets on Saturday.
One rider went over the top and into the crowd, with several spectators appearing to be thrown to the ground.
Photo: AFP
“Sadly, as a result of the collision, a female spectator suffered injuries and was taken to hospital, where she is currently being treated,” organizers said in a statement. “We are in contact with the spectator’s family and have offered our support.”
South Australia Premier Peter Malinauskas told local media it was an “awful, freak accident.”
“Tragically last night we did see a significant accident occur at the TDU, where cyclists went into spectators,” he said. “It’s saddening to report a woman has suffered multiple serious injuries.”
Photo: AFP
Australian race winner Sam Welsford (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) said it was a “super-fast corner” with Italy’s Manlio Moro from the Movistar Team among the riders that crashed.
Britain’s Matthew Brennan (Team Visma) saw the pileup, which happened in front of him.
“It was quite chaotic,” he said. “A lot of people were keen, it was the first race of the season and my team did a lot of work to keep me out of trouble and keep me safe.”
The sprint race was a prelude to the main men’s six-stage event, which starts today in the UCI World Tour season-opener.
Yesterday, Switzerland’s Noemi Ruegg protected her lead to win the three-stage women’s race, as American Olympic team pursuit champion Chloe Dygert surged to victory in the final stage.
Ruegg (EF Education-Oatly) kept pace with the leaders heading into the final sprint in hot conditions to cross the finish line in third place behind Dygert, but enough to claim the opening race of the season.
She became only the second non-Australian winner in eight editions of the women’s TDU.
Ruegg, 23, set up her overall victory with a powerful win in Saturday’s second stage to hold a 15-second buffer over Dutch rider Silke Smulders (Liv AlUla Jayco) heading into the decisive 105.9km final stage in the Adelaide Hills.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
RSS