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GB coach Shane Sutton injured in road accident as Wiggins leaves hospital GB coach Shane Sutton injured in road accident as Wiggins leaves hospital
(about 4 hours later)
Shane Sutton, the head coach for the GB team, has been taken to hospital after suffering an accident when out cycling, just a day after Bradley Wiggins was knocked off his bike and hospitalised himself. The Tour de France winner was discharged on Wednesday with, according to sources, broken ribs and either a dislocated finger or thumb. All of Britain's Olympic cyclists regularly mention the dangers they encounter when riding on the road, and on Wednesday and Thursday those risks were reiterated when the sport's biggest star, Bradley Wiggins, and his mentor, Shane Sutton, the British Cycling head coach, ended up in hospital after being in collision with vehicles in separate incidents 15 hours apart.
Team Sky said: "He suffered minor injuries, including a bruised hand and ribs, and was kept at the Royal Preston Hospital overnight as a precaution. Bradley has now gone home to recuperate with his family and there will be no long-term injury problems." Wiggins was released on Thursday with minor injuries while Sutton was expected to remain in hospital for several days as doctors monitor his recovery from bleeding on the brain.
Team Sky's Dr Richard Freeman said: "Bradley has been discharged from hospital after suffering minor injuries, including bruises to his right hand and ribs, but is expected to make a full and speedy recovery. He is now going to spend the weekend at home convalescing with his family." Wiggins suffered severe bruising to his ribs and hands after being knocked off his bike at 6pm on Wednesday evening as a motorist in a white Astra van pulled out of the service station on the A5209 next to junction 27 of the M6, a few miles from the Tour de France winner's home in the village of Eccleston.
Police sources said the collision involving Sutton, on his bike, and a Peugeot 206 car took place at about 8.55am near the junction of Stockport Road and Clare Road in Levenshulme. The driver of the Peugeot was not injured. No arrests were made. Eyewitnesses said he was in considerable pain and complaining of rib injuries, and the force of the impact shattered the wing mirror of the van.
North West ambulance service confirmed a cyclist was taken to Salford Royal Hospital with a head injury after the collision. The cyclist was said to be conscious and breathing when taken away by ambulance. The Tour de France winner was taken to the Royal Preston hospital where he was given morphine and had a scan to his head, because, although he reported no head injuries, his helmet smashed in the impact. He was kept in overnight and left hospital on Thursday morning.
Wiggins had been out riding at about 6pm on Wednesday close to his home in Eccleston, near Chorley in Lancashire, when he was hit by a white Vauxhall Astra Envoy that is said to have emerged from a garage forecourt on to a main road, the A5209, next to junction 27 of the M6 near the village of Wrightington. He was taken by ambulance to Royal Preston hospital. As he was driven away he showed the finger to the waiting photographers although it was unclear whether he was merely demonstrating that the finger was not damaged, or whether he was conveying a message.
Sutton is likely to spend the next few days in hospital, according to his team, which put out a statement saying: "British Cycling has confirmed that Shane Sutton was involved in an incident this morning on the A6 near Levenshulme in Manchester. Richard Freeman, Team Sky's doctor, said: "Bradley has been discharged from hospital after suffering minor injuries, including bruises to his right hand and ribs, but is expected to make a full and speedy recovery. He is now going to spend the weekend at home convalescing with his family." It was not immediately clear when Wiggins would be able to ride his bike again but the fact he had no broken bones implied that his preparations for next year's Giro d'Italia would not be seriously affected. He had been in the process of beginning his winter build-up when the accident occurred.
"Shane was taken into hospital where it was identified he has suffered bruising and bleeding on the brain. Shane was wearing a helmet. He is set to undergo more tests, and is likely to stay in hospital for the next few days. It is extremely rare that our riders and coaches are hurt while out cycling on the road, even rarer that two incidents should occur in a short space of time, and we wish Shane and Bradley a speedy recovery. Sutton had been returning to his flat from his regular pre-work bike ride at about 9am on Thursday morning when he was in collision with a Peugeot 206 near the junction of Clare Road and Stockport Road in Levenshulme, about three and a half miles from the Manchester velodrome where both Team Sky and the Olympic cycling team are based. He too was wearing a helmet, but is said to have fallen heavily on his head and was taken to Salford Royal hospital, which specialises in head injuries.
"Cycling is not an intrinsically dangerous activity but there is much more to be done to improve conditions for cyclists on the roads. British Cycling is calling on the government to put cycling at the heart of transport policy to ensure that cycle safety is built into the design of all new roads, junctions and transport projects, rather than being an afterthought." "Shane was taken into hospital where it was identified he has suffered bruising and bleeding on the brain," said British Cycling. "He is set to undergo more tests, and is likely to stay in hospital for the next few days. It is extremely rare that our riders and coaches are hurt while out cycling on the road, even rarer that two incidents should occur in a short space of time."
More details of Wiggins's crash emerged when a member of staff at the garage, Yasmin Smith, told ITV's Daybreak she was in the back room when she heard a screeching of tyres and a loud bang, and rushed outside to help. "I came straight outside to see a gentleman sat on the pavement, but I didn't realise who he was. I just went over to help. The ambulance and the police had been called. The British Cycling head coach has been close to Wiggins for more than 10 yearsIn Wiggins's autobiographical account of his Tour de France and Olympic wins, My Time – published on Thursday – includes a lengthy description of their relationship and the way they work. Wiggins said Sutton played a key role in his recovery after a disastrous Tour de France in 2010. He described the Australian as "the only person who could put me on the right footing, who could tell me things I didn't want to hear at times when I might not want to hear them".
"[The driver] was very upset, even more upset when the police actually said: 'Do you realise who you've hit?' That really put her back, because obviously she felt bad enough." In 2012 Sutton, 55, combined his one-to-one coaching duties with Wiggins at Team Sky with a key role as head coach at British Cycling in the run-in to the London Olympics, where he oversaw the team's progress to a total of 12 medals. He was awarded an OBE in 2010 for his services to sport.
Smith, who said Wiggins's wife Cath was on the scene within about five minutes, earlier told the Lancashire Evening Post: "By the time I got there he had moved to a safer place but was still on the ground and he was in a lot of pain. He said he thought he had broken his ribs and while a lot of police cars arrived it was about 15 minutes before the ambulance got there, by which time he was blue." He had been expecting to head up the British team at next week's Track Cycling World Cup at the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome in Glasgow, but it is unclear whether he will be able to attend the meeting.
Another witness, truck driver Barry Blacklidge, told the Sun: "I could see a pushbike, like a mountain bike, and the front wheel was all buckled. I went into the garage and asked what was going on. She said: 'Bradley Wiggins has just been knocked off his bike.'"
In a statement on their website, Team Sky said: "The injuries he has sustained are not thought to be serious and he is expected to make a full and speedy recovery. We will announce more details in due course."
A spokeswoman for the hospital in Preston said she was unable to give out any information on its patients, while Lancashire police said: "We plan to speak to the driver later today as part of our inquiries."
The AA's president, Edmund King, said: "This collision should act as a reminder to all drivers that we need to be more vigilant particularly when pulling out of entrances and turning at junctions. With autumnal weather and darker evenings it is essential to check and double-check for cyclists, pedestrians and indeed other road users before pulling out. We need to break down the 'two-tribe' mentality on the roads and coexist in harmony."
Wiggins was due to attend a number of interviews to promote his book My Time, which is published on Thursday, including a recorded item for the Graham Norton Show on BBC One to be broadcast on Friday night.