The Tour de l’Avenir has released footage of the crash that hospitalised Tom Pidcock.
Pidcock fell while fighting for stage honours on day six of the under-23 race, dubbed a “mini Tour de France” by the organisers.
Riding for the British squad, Pidcock was part of a select group at the front of the race on the road to Privas when he went down in the final kilometre.
>>> Dominant teams curb enjoyment of cycling, UCI survey reveals
Footage of the crash shows that the rising road and cyclocross star was descending into a right-hand turn in awful weather conditions, his momentum carrying him towards the guard rail at the edge of the road.
Pidcock unclipped his foot in an attempt to avoid the rail, but went down and slit out of the view of the camera.
The 20-year-old was taken to hospital and forced to abandon the race, later posting an update on social media.
Pidcock, who rides for Wiggins-Le Col, said: “Thanks for all the messages everyone. Just starting to come round. I don’t really remember much at the moment but I remember enough to know what Instagram is and was also told I was going to win which is a bit s****.
“Anyway, I’ll live to fight another day.”
Pidcock took a nasty blow to the face, posting a picture of the cuts and swelling to his nose and mouth.
He was was in a strong position in the race in which he was targeting the overall, sitting at 1-06 in ninth place ahead of Tuesday’s stage.
With four tough mountain stages to come, he was Great Britain’s best chance at an overall success.
>>> Vuelta a España 2019 will be a ‘duel between Movistar, Jumbo-Visma and Astana,’ says organiser
The British team have had a mixed race so far, with the highs of two victories from Ethan Hayter and Fred Wright on stages three and four respectively countered by Hayter abandoning after crashing and breaking his collarbone on stage four.
Jonas Vingegaard is 'happy' while Tadej Pogačar calls Tour de France 2025 route 'brutal'
Do cycling jackets have to get a lot worse for the environment to get a bit better?
