Bradley Wiggins and Shane Sutton Hospitalised after road crash

[mick the click]

******* van drivers

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/cycling/bradley-wiggins/9663071/Bradley-Wiggins-taken-to-hospital-after-road-crash.html

The Lancashire Evening Telegraph said the Olympic champion could have broken several ribs and suffered hand and wrist injuries after the incident in Wrightington near Wiggins' house in Eccleston.

The white Astra van and Wiggins collided as the vehicle pulled away from a petrol station forecourt. An attendant, Yasmin Smith, rushed to the London-born cyclist's aid.

“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," Smith said.

“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.”

A truck driver Barry Blacklidge, 46, who arrived at the service station moments after the crash.

“There were about four police cars there," Blacklidge said. "All the roads were cordoned off.

“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’.

“The ambulance turned up and they treated him for a while.

[Reece]

Dan Roan @danroan
Astonishing. First Wiggins knocked off bike in Wrightington last night, now GB cycling coach Shane Sutton suffers same fate in Levenshulme

[Neil Young]

It's not that ****ing astonishing given the way a lot of people drive. But it's probably the fault of the cyclists, I expect they were running red lights or not wearing helmets or going at the wrong speed.

By definition they were both in the way so it's their own fault. I have no sympathy.

[Reece]

The bait worked

Hi Neil

[Rich]

The A6 through Levenshulme is a nightmare on a bike - done it a few times and it can be really scary.

[Neil Young]

Hi Reecie. Don't let these incidents put you off - the more people who cycle, the safer the roads.

[CJ]

It's not that ****ing astonishing given the way a lot of people drive. But it's probably the fault of the cyclists, I expect they were running red lights or not wearing helmets or going at the wrong speed.

By definition they were both in the way so it's their own fault. I have no sympathy.

childish twaddle

[Pablo]

This adds to Andy Murray's theory that cyclists are skill-less drug mules. If Wiggins was that skilled on a bike why didn't he get out of the way in time?

[ChesterDave]

A spokesperson for the woman who ran over Bradley Wiggins has said she is wheely upset and tyred of people pedalling lies saying that she is a cyclepath. She thinks she is being framed and people should give her a brake.

[CJ]

having actually driven where this accident happend (its on my route to the M6 if i am going south it doesnt surprise me at all.

not sure which direction he was coming from as if he was onthe way from his house thats two directions of that little junction or if he was on the way home its the other two.

but its a pain in the neck with drivers looking for the smallest gap and going for it.

I would think its very likely to be the drivers fault there.

[Chazza]

Sounds like Shane Sutton is in a bad way.

GB cycling head coach Shane Sutton suffers bleeding on the brain in accident
• Bradley Wiggins discharged from hospital after own collision
• 'Shane is likely to stay in hospital for the next few days'

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 Sky News, a broken rib and either a dislocated finger or thumb.

Wiggins had been out riding at about 6pm close to his home in Eccleston, near Chorley in Lancashire, when he was hit by a white Vauxhall Astra Envoy which 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 taken by ambulance to Royal Preston hospital.

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.

"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.

"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."

More details of his 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 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."

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."

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 its website, Team Sky said that "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 co-exist in harmony."

Wiggins was due to attend a number of interviews to promote his book My Time, which is published today, including a recorded item for the Graham Norton Show on BBC One to be broadcast on Friday night.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/nov/08/shane-sutton-hospital-bradley-wiggins-released

[Resu]

Hi Reecie. Don't let these incidents put you off - the more people who cycle, the safer the roads.

Is this based on the same instincts that leads fish and birds to form groups? To minimize the risk of you being the on caught (hit?)

[Pablo]

Is this based on the same instincts that leads fish and birds to form groups? To minimize the risk of you being the on caught (hit?)

He's lost the plot. I assume he was referring to something like this:

[CJ]

i think (but may be wrong) he thinks if everyone becomes a cyclist that they will drive better.

not sure that its likely that the wrost drivers would become cyclists or change their behaviour.

also it ignores the fact that sometimes cyclists are in the wrong. that even the best awareness on the road could still have people having an accident.

[Kenneth]

Thankfully Shane Sutton was wearing a helmet.