Fan hospitalised after ‘awful’ crash at cycling’s Tour Down Under

ADELAIDE – A fan was hospitalised with serious injuries after an “awful, freak” high-speed pile-up during Australia’s Tour Down Under (TDU) cycling race, organisers said on Jan 19.

Videos 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 Jan 18.

One rider went over the top and into the crowd, with several spectators appearing to be thrown to the ground.

“Sadly, as a result of the collision, a female spectator suffered injuries and was taken to hospital, where she is currently being treated,” organisers said in a statement.

“We are in contact with the spectator’s family and have offered our support.”

South Australia’s state 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.”

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 who crashed.

Britain’s Matthew Brennan (Team Visma) saw the pile-up, 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, the UCI World Tour season opener which starts on Jan 21.

The three-stage women’s race was won on Jan 19 by Switzerland’s Noemi Ruegg.

She protected her lead to win, 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 (Canyon-SRAM), 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 Tour Down Under.

Ruegg, 23, set up her overall victory with a powerful win in the second stage on Jan 18 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.

The Swiss rider claimed the overall ochre leader’s jersey by 13sec in 8hr 49min from Smulders with Norway’s Mie Bjorndal Ottestad (Uno-X Mobility) third, 37sec behind the winner.

“It was quite a challenge today. They didn’t make it easy for us. They tried a lot of moves, especially in the last two laps,” Ruegg said.

“I was super nervous the whole day. I really wanted to bring it home. My team were amazing. I could save all my energy early and focus on the last two laps of the stage.” AFP