Chris Newton is home nursing a broken collarbone after a car?s passenger door was opened into his path on a training ride yesterday.
The 34-year-old was just setting out on a ride from his home near Manchester when he was approaching a junction.
?I was coming down a slight hill towards a T-junction and the traffic was backed up,? he said. ?I went up the left-hand side of the line of traffic because I was turning left at the end of the road,? he said.
?The traffic was moving and the last thing you expect is someone to get out of one of the cars.
?A passenger opened the door into me. I went down and hit the railings on the edge of the pavement.
?I sprung straight up but I knew immediately I?d broken my left collarbone.
?My front wheel is not buckled so I didn?t ride into an open door. I think the door opened right into me, knocking me off, and I hit my left shoulder on the railings.?
Newton accepted there was an element of risk of riding up the inside of a line of traffic but said: ?But when it?s backed up like that and you?re turning left, you?re not going to sit in the line of traffic. You just don?t expect a passenger door to open.
?If you go past parked cars on the right-hand side, you?re constantly looking aren?t you, to see if they driver is going to get out and you give more room.?
Although it?s a clean break, a piece of bone has chipped off and so he will have his collarbone plated next Tuesday.
?By having it plated I can get back on the turbo in 10 or 12 days and put a bit of weight on it.?
Newton admits he?s not at his most patient when he?s on the sidelines with illness or injury, so missing the World Championships will be a big blow.
?Missing the Worlds in your home country, when you?re in great form, what can you say? My family all have tickets so I?ll go with them and support the rest of the team, but I am gutted,? he said.
However, his injuries shouldn?t affect his preparation for the Olympic Games. ?I?ve never had a collarbone go before but I?ll treat it as if it?s two weeks off, then I?ll start training when the bone is strong enough. It shouldn?t have any real bearing on the Olympics.?
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