Cyclist, 23, in ICU after being ‘urgently airlifted to hospital’ following horror crash
A professional cyclist has suffered a traumatic brain injury and was “urgently airlifted to hospital” after he was involved in a horror crash
Jaume Guardeno was rushed to the ICU(Image: Getty Images)
A professional cyclist had to be “urgently airlifted to hospital” after he suffered a traumatic brain injury on a training ride.
Jaume Guardeño, who rides for second-division outfit Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, was out for a training ride on Tuesday after finishing last week’s Volta Catalunya when he suffered the serious injuries in a collision with a car.
A statement released on Thursday said: “Our colleague Jaume Guardeño suffered a fall last Tuesday while training, after his recent participation in “Volta a Catalunya”, being involved in a collision with a vehicle, resulting in serious injuries.
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“As a result of the accident, the cyclist from Alicante, a resident of Caldes de Montbui, was urgently transferred by helicopter to the Taulí Hospital in Sabadell, where he remains in the ICU with serious injuries and awaiting further evaluation.
“From Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, we want to express our full support and strength to Jaume and his family during this difficult time, wishing him a speedy and full recovery.
“We will provide further updates as his condition evolves.”
Last week’s Volta, won by Jonas Vingegaard, was his seventh race of the season – and he exclusively raced on the Iberian Peninsula so far this campaign.
However, after Caja Rural were somewhat controversially handed a Tour de France wildcard, Guardeño, 23, had been pencilled in for a spot in their eight-man team.
It would have been his second grand tour in his short career – finishing 14th in last season’s Vuelta a Espana, one place behind his team leader Abel Balderstone.
Balderstone is expected to lead the team when this summer’s lap of France rolls out from Barcelona. Caja Rural’s inclusion was questioned by pundits, with many expecting the spot to go to Unibet Rose Rockets.
However, the Tour’s director Christian Prudhomme explained: “We followed the same principle as in previous years, which is to say that we took the second division rankings.
“Caja Rural are 25th, but with the disappearance of Arkea-B&B Hotels and the merger between Lotto and Intermarché, they are now 23rd.”
He added: “It’s a team [Unibet Rose Rockets] that dreams of the Tour de France in the long term. We’ll be watching all this over the coming years.”
