Lukas Nerurkar has revealed he was seriously injured by a driver in a training crash whilst visiting family in England.
The incident occurred on 2nd July. The 22-year-old suffered a broken collarbone that was also dislocated, a fractured sternum, a fractured vertebra, a broken rib, and a punctured lung. In a statement released by his team, EF Education-EasyPost, Nerurkar said, “I’m happy it wasn’t worse, and also it’s just generally scary that a car can do that to you so easily.”
Nerurkar is not the only EF rider to have been hit by a driver whilst training, after Irishman Ben Healy was injured during an altitude camp preparing for this year’s Tour de France. Thankfully for the Brit, he was discharged after two days in hospital.
After complicated collarbone surgery last week, which the team say was a success, the Nerurkar is now expected to wait for his ribs, sternum and lung to repair naturally. His team doctor estimates recovery will take between six and eight weeks, although Nerurkar is keen to start training sooner.
“Because it’s the distal part of the collarbone, so the part closest to the shoulder, and there’s quite a few ligaments around there which have been damaged, they’ve had to do some work as well. It’s not just been putting a plate in.
“I think that’s going to take a little bit longer than usual and the fact that it’s a broken sternum and the broken rib too, so waiting for them to heal. With a straightforward collarbone fracture, it’s a matter of weeks, but then this time I might have to wait a little bit longer. We’re hopeful that it’s going to be no more than a couple weeks before I can get back out on the turbo.”
Nerurkar, son of British marathon runner Richard Nerurkar, grew up in both Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Brighton, where his parents live and where he is now recovering for the coming weeks before returning to Andorra. As an 18-year-old he joined the now defunct Trinity Racing team where he won a stage of the under-23 Giro d’Italia and finished sixth overall at the O Gran Camino stage race behind Jonas Vingegaard.
He joined EF Education–EasyPost in 2024 and has since finished in the top-10 of a series of World and ProTour stage races. Most notably, he finished third on an uphill finish on a stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné (now the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) in 2024. He made his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta a Espana last year, finishing in 104th.
road.cc has been tracking Nerurkar’s progress for several years. In 2017, as a 13-year-old, Nerurkar attempted to ‘Everest’ up the Ditchling Beacon, climbing the Sussex hill 65 times in a day. Unfortunately, he had to abandon his attempt due to sickness, though his Preston Park club mate Tom Pughe-Morgan did complete the challenge. In the process the teenagers raised more than £2,000 for charity.
10 thoughts on ““It’s just generally scary that a car can do that to you so easily”: EF pro cyclist Lukas Nerurkar seriously injured after being hit by driver on training ride whilst visiting family back in UK”
“it’s just generally scary that a car can do that to you so easily.”
@mitsky Over to you…
@Pub bike
Thanks,
I would not have spotted that one as I usually pay zero attention to sport cycling.
@Pub bike Could be days in purdah so repeated:
@Pub bike It’s the sort of scary that we all have to live with every day. We don’t have any details so we don’t know how close to ‘100% Driver Fault’ that incident lies, but we DO know that complete police indifference to ‘100 % Driver Fault’ close-passing attacks encourages those offenders to keep offending. We DO know that police indifference to drivers committing daily criminal offences encourages those criminal offences. The occasional police apologists we get on here can look up HN21 VXB, Marcus Wright Joinery Transit on Facebook and Companies House, and then reassure themselves and the police that MOT evasion is not really the criminal offence the namby-pamby cyclist-pandering war-on-the-motorist law says it is. As for ‘100% Driver Fault’ close-passing:
@wtjs I’m guessing that from the lack of detail here regarding the motorist that evidence has been sent to the police which hopefully will lead to prosecution but as we know that isn’t very likely. Wishing Lukas Nerurkar a speedy recovery.
@Pub bike I’m sure you already know the gist of the following, as it involves the most hopelessly inept, most bent and most idle police force in the UK. First reported to OpSnap Lancs 28.8.25- no response, no action. Reported January 26 directly to the Neighbourhood Policing Team (the one that leaves posters around saying ‘report offences to the NPT) by email with photos several times because Marcus’s Transit was parked illegally for 2 days 150 yards from Garstang Police Station, where the NPT is based, outside the library. There was even a group email, which I received accidentally, from the entertainingly named PC Garstang, who is based at Fleetwood, saying ‘can somebody please respond!’. No response, no action. Marcus then turned up for 3 days in a row on a joinery job at the Old Garstang Police Station- that’s an arduous half a mile from the New Garstang Police Station- and I emailed them more photos. No response, no action. Seen again on 28th June outside the library, this time with a view of the driver. No response, no action.
@wtjs It is a pathetic non-response by the police since the vehicle is not taxed or MOTed there is likely no insurance either which is an automatic £300 fine and 6 points. Insurance would be invalid with no MOT anyway so even if Mr. Wright has insurance it is worthless for other parties.
@Pub bike It’s not just PC 706 Mike Duff that is protecting Marcus Wright, it’s 3 other officers who he involved in the case by ‘cc-ing’ them on the email’ when complaining that the police don’t have time to deal with what he describes as ‘alleged offences’: they are Stuart Stevenson, Nick Barber and Elliot Jones. No reply from any of them either. If any of these no MOT, or Failed MOT But Still Driving Around Garstang vehicles was involved in a collision, they would just cover up that they had been told about the preceding offences. This is the world of the Bent Coppers. One of them is a Sgt. and another is an Inspector. Lancashire Constabulary regards the Real Enemy to be people who report offences, especially when they provide indisputable evidence and keep records of everything the police say- they really hate them.
@wtjs but it is “just one bad apple”.
Lancashire Constabulary must find it difficult to recruit enough bad apples to support their present modi operandi.
Hope he recovers soon but welcome to the world of cycle vs bike in the UK. I knew his dad at school in Bradford, a really nice guy and super smart. Turned out to have a vo2 max of 92 which did explain why he always won cross country 🙄