A member of the Austrian national team has been hospitalised following a crash involving a bus while undertaking a recce of the route of Saturday’s women’s junior race at the UCI Road World Championships in Denmark.
Leila Gschwentner was confirmed by the Austrian national cycling federation as having sustained a shoulder injury in the incident, reports Sporza.
The crash happened at the junction of Brusselsestraat and the ring road in Leuven, which hosts the finishing circuit of the road races in the coming days.
The bus, a regular De Lijn service according to a report on Sporza, sustained significant damage to its windscreen according to a video tweeted by Oost-Brabant regional news broadcaster ROBtv.
Aan de oprit van de ring in de Brusselsestraat in @stadleuven zijn de renners van de Oostenrijkse wielerploeg aangereden door een bus van @delijn. Eén wielrenster is afgevoerd met meerdere breuken. #robnieuws #robtv #robwk pic.twitter.com/szr0yj1NOz
— ROBtv (@rob_televisie) September 22, 2021
Some media reports have suggested that Gschwentner and her two team-mates may have been riding in the wrong direction, but local police have so far declined to comment on the precise circumstances of the crash.
Today’s collision comes just five days after the start of the World Championships in Flanders was marred by the death of Danish former professional cyclist Chris Anker Sørensen.
The 37-year-old, who was covering the event for Danish broadcaster TV2, was killed in a collision involving a van while riding his bike in Bruges, which hosted the time trial events.
> Danish ex-pro Chris Anker Sørensen killed while riding bike in Belgium
3 thoughts on “Austrian junior rider hurt in crash involving bus at World Championships”
This incident in Belgium with
This incident in Belgium with cyclists in close succession, this, Chris Anker Sorenson and also Anna Kay was hit by a car on Monday https://www.instagram.com/p/CUHqdRTs4Pw/
Does look like that road has
Does look like that road has cycle lanes on both sides and she was unfortunately going the wrong way on that side of the road. If you choose to do that… you have to be prepared to stop on a dime if a bus comes along…
Not sure what cycle lanes are
Not sure what cycle lanes are like in Austria but probably not used to what appears to be pavement being a cycle lane only (there is a bus stop directly on it further up). However not an excuse for not being more cautious at the junction anyway.