Olympic gold medallist Tom Pidcock admits he was ‘lucky’ after being able to radio for help following a crash into a ravine at the Volta a Catalunya.
Pidcock, who had been sitting second overall in the race standings, was among several riders to crash on the penultimate descent on Friday’s stage.
Television cameras missed the Pinarello-Q36.5 rider’s crash, with the British star having fallen down a ravine with nearly 30 kilometres left to race.
‘I was drinking on the descent and misjudged a corner,’ Pidcock said post-stage.
‘I overshot it and went down the ravine. It was like one of these horror crashes you see, but I am okay. I’ll go for a check, but I think I’m okay.
‘I am lucky I could talk on the radio. I was far from the road and nobody knew I was there. I’m happy I could finish the stage.’
Olympic champion Tom Pidcock fell down a ravine at the Volta a Catalunya on Friday and was forced to radio for help
Pidcock later shared images on social media, explaining where he had fallen down a ravine
Pidcock, a two-time Olympic mountain bike gold medallist, later shared images on Instagram highlighting where he had gone off the road.
‘Today I lost a life for sure. Was drinking on the descent and completely misjudged my braking and went straight on here.
‘Luckily I had my radio so they could find me as no one knew I’d crashed. I’m going to self-proclaim as a ninja crasher, 60kph off a mountain road and I’m relatively ok.’
Having begun the day 13 seconds off the lead, Pidcock would eventually finish 29 minutes down on the new race leader Jonas Vingegaard.
After an assessment, Pidcock was forced to pull out of the race following injuries sustained in his fall.
‘Due to his crash he suffered injuries, most likely bone and ligament damage in particular to his right knee and also right wrist,’ a team statement read on Saturday morning.
‘Unfortunately we had to make the decision to take him out of the race. Further clinical evaluation and imaging will follow in the next days additionally to the already initiated healing process.’
Pidcock added: ‘We did everything to try to make it to the start but it’s not possible. I fought to finish the stage yesterday to make sure I had the option to continue. Now the focus is on recovery, and I’ll be back.’
