Wiggins coach Sutton injured in bike crash
BRITISH Cycling has called on the government to do more to protect riders after head coach Shane Sutton suffered bleeding on the brain in an accident yesterday, just hours after Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins broke ribs in a separate bike crash.
Sutton, who leads a team of coaches who work with Wiggins, is expected to remain in hospital for tests following the collision with a Peugeot 205 in Manchester, yesterday morning. The Australian 55-year-old, who was awarded the OBE in 2010, cannot remember the accident but was able to speak to British Cycling officials.
Wiggins was discharged from hospital yesterday as he recovers from a fractured rib and broken index finger sustained when he collided with a van while on a training ride near his Lancashire home on Wednesday evening.
“It is extremely rare that our riders and coaches are hurt while out cycling on the road, even rarer that two incidents should occur in a short space of time, and we wish Shane and Bradley a speedy recovery,” said a spokesperson for British Cycling.
“Cycling is not an intrinsically dangerous activity but there is much more to be done to improve conditions for cyclists on the roads. British Cycling is calling on the government to put cycling at the heart of transport policy to ensure that cycle safety is built into the design of all new roads, junctions and transport projects, rather than being an afterthought.”
Wiggins, who made history this year by following his landmark Tour triumph with a gold medal in the London 2012 Olympic road racing time trial, was thrown off his bike when he collided with a Vauxhall Astra van that had pulled out of a petrol station forecourt.
Team Sky played down his injuries, saying they expected him to make “a full and speedy recovery”.
More than 19,000 cyclists were injured, 3,000 seriously injured and 107 killed in road accidents last year, according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.
Wiggins’ former Team Sky colleague Mark Cavendish wrote on Twitter: “Really wishing my friend Bradley Wiggins a speedy recovery in hospital after being knocked off his bike by a car yesterday.”