Young British racer suffers serious injuries in horror smash with speeding motorcyclist in Colombia

A young road racer from Britain spent the weekend in hospital in Colombia being treated for "serious injuries" sustained when he was hit by a speeding motorcyclist while training.

Aaron Stone rides for the Zappi Racing Team's U23 outfit and was in South America to train alongside the team's exchange partners on the Frágiles y Fuertes team.

He has competed at races in Belgium and domestic events such as the Beaumont Trophy for his former team Richardsons Trek DAS, but was, on Friday, injured in a frightening high-speed collision with a motorcyclist.

The team revealed in a Facebook post that the 21-year-old had suffered "serious injuries requiring two surgery interventions and several stitches" but was "now out of danger" and recovering at the home of their Colombian exchange team's manager.

"We are very thankful to fyfteam and team manager Olga Orozco for taking such great care of our boys since they arrived in Colombia," Zappi Racing Team wrote on social media.

"With this message, we want to raise awareness of the situation that affects athletes on the streets around the world very single day. We also want to remind riders of the importance of wearing the right protective gear when training and racing, as well as the importance of training with a group or with a motorbike or team car, if possible.

 

 

 

 

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"We will be working hand in hand with our partner team in Colombia to help Aaron make a full recovery and we look forward to welcoming him in our team house at Zappi Cycling Academy in Italy.

"We are proud of you boy, we are waiting for you in Italy to continue on your cycling journey. You showed us how strong you are."

In December, a video posted on social media of a speeding motorcyclist smashing into a cyclist riding along the hard shoulder near the Colombian capital Bogotá prompted anger and frustration among road safety campaigners, politicians and cyclists alike.

Both the bicycle rider and motorcyclist escaped serious injury but national newspaper El Tiempo reported that up until that point in 2022, 473 people had been killed in traffic incidents in Bogotá — 75 of those cyclists and 200 motorcyclists.

One local rider said little is done to stop speeding motorcyclists in the area, to the point where he has stopped riding on the road where the crash happened due to the danger. 

"And next Sunday they will be back, nothing is going to happen," Andrés Felipe Vergar said. "As for me, for years I have reduced my training in this way. A pity as it is a very good place to train, but on several occasions I experienced situations."